Apple TV Gets Leg Up on Roku, Amazon Fire With tvOS Upgrade

By Daniel Frankel
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Apple has announced an upgraded version of its tvOS, the operating system that powers its Apple TV OTT set-top.

The new version will support multiple profiles within the also newly upgraded Apple TV app, allowing each user in a household to have personalized recommendations within the app, as well as their own preferences and playlists within the Apple Music app.

This provides some competitive advantage over Roku and Amazon Fire TV, which don’t provide such personalization features, a least not outside of apps like Netflix that run within their respective ecosystems.

Related: Roku and Amazon Even in U.S. OTT Market: Research Company

Presented at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference Monday in Cupertino, Calif., tvOS 13 will also include support for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 game controllers.

This coincides with the launch of the new Apple Arcade subscription service, which includes more than 100 games that can be played on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

Apple TV is currently the third most popular streaming player in the U.S., trailing Roku and Fire TV by a wide margin. 

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!