Apple Releases tvOS 16.1 With Siri Improvements

Monday, October 24, 2022 2:33 PM


Apple today released tvOS 16.1, the first major update to the tvOS 16 operating system that initially came out in September. tvOS 16.1 is available for the Apple TV 4K and the ‌Apple TV‌ HD.


The tvOS 16.1 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ by going to System -> Software Update. ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to ‌tvOS 16.1 automatically.

While tvOS updates are often minor in scale compared to other operating system updates, there are a few new features available in tvOS 16.1.

The update adds a more compact Siri interface that lets users see their request results in the bottom right corner of the TV's screen rather than in the bottom middle of the display. The new look takes up less space.

There is also a new option to enable "Hey ‌Siri‌" commands when using the ‌Apple TV‌ with AirPods. The toggle can be found in the Settings app under General.

As with the iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16,1, macOS Ventura, and watchOS 9.1 updates, tvOS 16.1 introduces support for the Matter smart home standard that will allow smart home products from different companies to interact with one another.

Apple provides additional details on tvOS releases in its dedicated tvOS support document, which is updated after each new iteration of tvOS.