Tvos 12: Dolby Atmos, Zero Sign-In, And TV App Improvements Make Apple TV 4K The Box To Beat

Dolby Atmos support makes it one of the best streaming boxes around.

- Jason Cross

With tvOS 12, the Apple TV 4K finally gets the improvements necessary to be the best streaming box on the market. Announced at Apple’s WWDC keynote in early June, the OS update highlights Dolby Atmos support, but its Zero Sign-on feature could be the most important advance in making streaming media boxes easier to use.

DOLBY ATMOS

Apple TV 4K launched last year with a handful of issues, HDR and frame rate switching hiccups chief among them. Further iOS releases smoothed all of those out, but one oft-requested feature was still missing: Dolby Atmos audio support.

With tvOS 12, Dolby Atmos comes to the Apple TV 4K. All you need for full 3D immersive audio is an Atmos-supporting sound bar or receiver. This makes Apple TV 4K the only streaming media box to be certified for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Apple says iTunes movies and TV shows will be updated this fall with the largest selection of Dolby Atmos-enabled content anywhere. Just like the transition to 4K and HDR, all existing content will be upgraded to Atmos at no cost.

ZERO SIGN-ON