Apple TV And tvOS 11 Will Likely Add Picture-in-Picture And Multi User Support

One of the things Apple will probably announce at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June is tvOS 11, the next version of its operating system for Apple TV streaming set-top boxes. And with tvOS 11 will inevitably come some fancy new features. It is said that two of enhancements will include picture-in-picture support and multi-user functionality, both of which are missing in tvOS 10.

Israeli website The Verifier feels confident in the information it obtained from an unnamed "reliable source," meaning this is all unofficial at this point. Nevertheless, the source says that multi-user support is coming, which will allow each individual user to connect his or her Apple ID account to the TV using an iOS device, such as an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.


Each user would then create and manage a unique profile. After an account is synced, the account holder will be able to access his or her Apple Music, iCloud, and iTunes content. Each user would also have access to his or her supported app catalog. The whole process of synchronizing an an account would be a one-time thing and is said to be as easy as replacing a TV channel.

The only caveat here is that multi-user support not be integrated into tvOS 11 straight away. It is possible that Apple will hold off adding multi-user functionality until the first update arrives.

As for picture-in-picture, this is something that already exists on Mac systems and iPad tablets. If the implementation on Apple TV is similar, then users would be able to watch a stream in a window in a corner while continuing to browse the UI and apps.

Top Image Source: Flickr (Julien GONG Min)