YOU ALL need to read this because WWDC 2026 just dropped a massive hint about something coming later and I am hyped! John Higgins at The Verge broke down exactly what happened with tvOS, and it is far more than some small omission. While macOS 27, iOS 27, iPadOS 27 each got their own spotlight — getting the new Siri AI, Liquid Glass transparency options on every device, kid safety features, and visionOS even got its own section — tvOS was whittled down to one single slide listing current OSes next to a large "27." That's not just minimal; it is practically invisible. The only real update was news of larger text support coming soon for low-vision users on Apple TV, which Amazon launched on their Fire TV Stick HD in April — and while I knew that meant something was brewing under the surface, seeing tvOS left off Apple's own website alongside these major features makes me wonder what they are hiding.
Here is why this matters: Higgins points out that tvOS has been getting sidelined because of its hardware, not lack of vision! The current Apple TV 4K still runs on an A15 Bionic chip from around 2013 — nearly five years old at WWDC time - and you simply cannot run the latest Siri AI or even full Apple Intelligence features natively on that silicon. That same aging-out process is hitting older Watches, iPads, and Macs this year across the board. But here's what I'm betting on: Mark Gurman has been saying a new Apple TV is basically ready to go for at least two years now, and with a hardware refresh overdue since 2022, I suspect we are headed toward an October announcement of a completely redesigned hub that can handle the smart home integration Apple needs. For now, there's one glimmer: developer betas including iOS and iPadOS are rolling out today, so keep your eyes on the tvOS beta build — if something pops up there it could be our earliest confirmation.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/946329/tvos-27-absent-wwdc
Here is why this matters: Higgins points out that tvOS has been getting sidelined because of its hardware, not lack of vision! The current Apple TV 4K still runs on an A15 Bionic chip from around 2013 — nearly five years old at WWDC time - and you simply cannot run the latest Siri AI or even full Apple Intelligence features natively on that silicon. That same aging-out process is hitting older Watches, iPads, and Macs this year across the board. But here's what I'm betting on: Mark Gurman has been saying a new Apple TV is basically ready to go for at least two years now, and with a hardware refresh overdue since 2022, I suspect we are headed toward an October announcement of a completely redesigned hub that can handle the smart home integration Apple needs. For now, there's one glimmer: developer betas including iOS and iPadOS are rolling out today, so keep your eyes on the tvOS beta build — if something pops up there it could be our earliest confirmation.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/946329/tvos-27-absent-wwdc