Apple has announced that US cable operator Charter Communications will begin offering the Apple TV 4K as a set-top-box solution to its customers later this year, alongside an all-new Spectrum TV app, intended to be seamlessly integrated with Siri and the TV app. The new Spectrum TV app will also be available for iPhone and iPad.
As part of this collaboration, Charter will also be offering iPhone and iPad to its customers, with a view to growing its mobile presence. Charter joins AT&T’s DirecTV Now in the US, Canal+ in France and Salt in Switzerland, which have begun offering Apple TV 4K with their services.
Charter will also take advantage of Apple’s new “zero sign-in feature”, coming in its forthcoming tvOS 12 update. The device simply detects the user’s broadband network and automatically signs them in to all supported apps they receive through their subscription.
The updated operating system also adds support for Dolby Atmos, which the company says will make Apple TV 4K “the only streaming player both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos certified”. It also brings new aerial screensavers created in collaboration with the International Space Station National Lab and the Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space.
With the release of tvOS 12, iPhone and iPad users will be able to control their Apple TV 4K directly from the Control Centre, use AutoFill to complete password fields on Apple TV apps and use smart home systems like Crestron and Savant to control their Apple TV and use Siri.
The developer beta of tvOS 12 is out now. A public beta version is expected by the end of June.
