Apple releases iOS 12.3 with revamped Apple TV app
About a month and a half after iOS 12.2 came out, Apple released iOS 12.3. This is the third major update to the mobile operating system, and this update focuses primarily on the revamped Apple TV app, which replaces the former Videos app.
The update to iOS 12.3 revolves around the renewed Apple TV app, which was presented at the end of March together with the upcoming streaming service Apple TV+ and is now available. The app includes a tool that uses machine learning to make suggestions based on preferences and viewing history. In addition, there are separate parts in the TV app for movies and TV shows, for example, and there is a separate navigation bar at the bottom of the screen on iOS devices. Ultimately, the app will be the way to use the streaming service Apple TV+, which will be released in the fall of this year.
In the Benelux, the app can mainly be used for movies and content from the iTunes store, for which the Videos app and the iTunes Store app are no longer needed. It can also search for TV programs, which, according to iCulture, redirects users to other apps in which the footage can be found, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Unlike other countries, there is no list of all TV programs to watch.
In addition, iOS 12.3 includes support for TVs equipped with Airplay 2. It will follow halfway through the year that LG TVs from 2019 and certain TVs from Sony will receive support. Since Monday, all Samsung smart TVs from 2019 will receive an update for Airplay 2 and the new Apple TV app. A number of Samsung TVs from 2018 will also receive this update. Suggestions can now also be made via Siri to view content via AirPlay.
Apple reports that the revamped TV app will be available Monday for iPhones, iPads and Apple TV customers in more than 100 countries, provided users have made ota updates to iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3. It is possible that the updates for this are not immediately available to everyone.
The updated TV app will also be available for Macs from the fall. Incidentally, Apple has also released macOS Mojave 10.14.5, adding Airplay 2 support for smart TVs that can handle it. Also some bugs have been fixed.