It looks like Apple TV might actually get a real sleep timer when the new tvOS 17 upgrade rolls through later in the year. While Apple does offer a way to put the device to sleep, it isn’t a sleep timer in the traditional sense.
Apple currently offers TV users a Sleep Now feature, which instantly puts the device to sleep, and a Sleep After feature, which makes it possible to set when an Apple TV player will automatically go to sleep.
Unlike a traditional sleep timer, however, Sleep After doesn’t offer the ability to just set a timer and have the countdown begin immediately. Instead, it relies on the device becoming inactive first.
Earlier today, Apple confirmed some of the upgrades that will be coming with tvOS 17 and one of them is a new Control Center. The main difference with the new Control Center is that the user can navigate between different settings sections without digging deeper into the main settings menu, including a dedicated system controls section.
What’s particularly interesting here is that the system controls section shows a Sleep Timer that the user can enable.
Unlike the existing Apple TV settings options, this isn’t listed as a general Sleep action or as either Sleep Now or Sleep After. It is very clearly labeled as a Sleep Timer and that seems to be as good as a confirmation of the new feature.
While there are no firm details on exactly how this Sleep Timer will work, it probably is fair to assume you will just be able to set a timer and forget about it. If that is the case, it is likely to be a very welcome addition by many Apple TV users.
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