tvOS

tvOS
DeveloperApple
Written in
OS family
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClosed, with open-source components
Initial releaseJanuary 9, 2007 (2007-01-09) as Apple TV Software
October 29, 2015 (2015-10-29) as tvOS
Latest release26.6 (July 27, 2026 (2026-07-27)) [±]
Latest preview27.0 RC / September 9, 2026 (2026-09-09)
Marketing targetTelevision, casual gaming
Available in71 languages
Update methodFirmware-over-the-air
Supported platforms
Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)
Default
user interface
10-foot user interface
LicenseCommercial proprietary software
Official websitedeveloper.apple.com/tvos
Support status
Supported

tvOS (formerly Apple TV Software) is an operating system created and developed by Apple for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software is based on Mac OS X. The software for the second-generation and later Apple TVs is based on the iOS operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts.

The second- and third-generation Apple TV have several built-in applications, but do not support third-party applications.

On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the fourth-generation Apple TV, with support for third-party applications. Apple also changed the name of the Apple TV operating system to tvOS, adopting the camel case nomenclature that they were using for its other operating systems: iOS, watchOS, and (later, in 2016) macOS.

The latest version, tvOS 26, was released on September 15, 2025.