When tvOS 26 lands this September, your Apple TV will get a fresh coat of “Liquid Glass” paint—because apparently, what we’ve all been dying for is shinier UI and more artsy screensavers. Somewhere in Cupertino, Steve Jobs is rolling his eyes from the iCloud.
Also arriving: the ability to use your iPhone as a karaoke mic with Apple Music (finally, the tech bro party trick nobody asked for) and a new “quick switch” feature for display profiles that activates when your Apple TV wakes up—because God forbid you manually toggle anything in 2025.
Useful? Maybe. Groundbreaking? Let’s just say Jobs probably wouldn’t have wasted a keynote slide on it.
One feature actually stands out in this update — and not just because it looks pretty. With tvOS 26, Apple TV is finally stepping outside its walled garden and supporting third-party wireless audio gear. That means you might be able to build a real wireless home theater system around your Apple TV — without chaining yourself to a pair of overpriced HomePods.
It’s a welcome change, albeit one that feels like it’s arriving a decade late. You can almost hear Steve Jobs muttering, “We should’ve done this before giving people karaoke mics and animated jellyfish.”
More Wireless TV Speaker Options Are (Finally) Coming to Apple TV
Starting with tvOS 26, Apple TV will finally let you designate any AirPlay-enabled wireless speaker as your default output. That means when you turn on your TV, sound will automatically play through your chosen speaker — no more re-connecting every time. Until now, this level of integration was limited to Apple’s own HomePod and HomePod mini. Everyone else? Stuck in the “temporary connection” penalty box.
Why does this matter? Because most wireless speakers these days — from Sonos and Audioengine to KEF — support AirPlay. The feature update essentially gives you the freedom to build a legit wireless TV audio system without being handcuffed to Apple’s own hardware.
There’s no HDMI cable to snake around your media console. No eARC port to fight with. Just open up your Apple TV, link your AirPlay speaker, and boom — you’ve got wireless sound every time the system powers on.
It’s a big win for simplicity and a solid workaround for anyone who’s skipped the soundbar tax or doesn’t want a full-blown AV setup. Of course, this still requires you to buy an Apple TV — because why give you flexibility without putting another Apple logo in your living room?
Somewhere, Steve Jobs is probably shaking his head that this wasn’t baked in from the start. But hey, wireless freedom… a decade later.
The Bottom Line
tvOS 26 finally gives Apple TV users a no-hassle way to default any AirPlay-compatible wireless speaker — including stereo pairs — as their main audio output.
This update turns your Apple TV into the central hub of a wireless home theater setup — no HDMI cables, no extra boxes, and no sacrifice in sound quality if your speakers are up to snuff. For those already invested in the AirPlay ecosystem, it’s a smart, frictionless upgrade that finally brings Apple’s “it just works” philosophy to your living room audio.