tvOS 18: Still no browser, but links can be sent to the iPhone
Apple still does not have a browser for Apple TV devices. With tvOS 18, you can now at least share links, according to the latest beta.
tvOS 18: Here are the new Dialog Boost and InSight functions.
(Image: Apple)
Browsers on televisions: the entertainment industry has been arguing about how good or bad this idea is for almost 30 years. For Apple, at least, one thing is certain: we don't want it. Accordingly, Apple TV multimedia boxes have never had their own version of Safari, and this will not change with the upcoming new tvOS 18 operating system. However, Apple wants to make it easier for users in future when they encounter links in apps on Apple TV. As testers of the current developer beta have discovered, there is now a new item in individual menus that can be used to send links to the web to nearby iPhones and iPads.
First in the TV app
AirDrop short-range transmission technology is used for this. It would be conceivable, for example, to finally be able to click on links in YouTube videos from Google's official YouTube app in order to view them on Apple's smartphones or tablets. Otherwise, web links rarely appear in tvOS applications.
Videos by heise
Where it already works in tvOS 18 Developer Beta 5, according to podcaster Sigmund Judge, is a video preview for a movie in the TV app that is only available to watch on Apple's Vision Pro headset. A click on "About Vision Pro" opens the corresponding page in the browser on the iPhone. tvOS also shows an animation that the redirection has taken place.
Links in other applications too?
Judge expects that the integration could also be used for music, books or augmented reality content, which can then be viewed on the iPhone or iPad. Information about an API for the new function is not yet available.
Apple does not currently approve regular browsers for tvOS. So far, such a browser can only be brought to the device via developer sideloading; private APIs are also used for this. It is unclear whether Apple will change this one day and port Safari - the company seems to be fundamentally opposed to this, and is also possibly afraid that it will open up attack surfaces for security vulnerabilities on the device. However, there are always combinations with known services, for example FaceTime can be used via a paired iPhone or iPad camera since tvOS 17 was released.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
