“Apple kicked off the week by releasing a major new beta for each one of its platforms including tvOS 9.2 beta for the new Apple TV,” Zac Hall reports for 9to5Mac. “While the software update isn’t available to everyone just yet, the pre-release software brings the 4th-gen Apple TV up to parity with older Apple TVs and even makes it work more like iPhones and iPads.”
“The new Apple TV Podcasts app works very similarly to the iOS 9 version of the same app, which is organized by unplayed episodes, subscriptions, featured podcasts, top charts, and search. Just don’t expect to find or play any video podcasts on this version of the Apple TV Podcasts app,” Hall reports. “In addition to Bluetooth keyboard support and a new Podcasts app, the new Apple TV also features an updated app switcher user interface that looks more like iOS 9 and less like iOS 8. The full screen left to right app previews have been replaced with stacked cards of right to left app previews.”
“You’ll also find folders on tvOS 9.2 beta. Just drag and drop two app icons on top of each other very similar to how iOS works,” Hall reports. “Rearranging apps can be a lot of work on the big screen, however, so tvOS includes a new menu for quickly moving apps to the Home screen and other folders when pressing the play/pause button in jiggle mode.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a solid beta (it’s still a beta, though) and is another important step along the way to getting the new Apple TV to the point it should have been at launch.