Image Credits: Apple
Rumors circulating about Apple TV launching a multiview feature – spotted by developer Steve Moser – have come true. Tonight, Apple launched a beta version of the Apple TV 4K feature during the MLB Friday Night Baseball livestream, TechCrunch has learned.
Users participating in the Apple beta software program must have tvOS beta version 16.5, which can be downloaded by going to the Settings app and selecting “System,” “Software Updates” and then “Get Beta Updates.”
Apple has not officially announced when multiview will be available. There is no exact timeline yet for when tvOS 16.5 will officially be out of beta.
As Tom’s Guide first reported, the beta feature is currently limited to Apple’s sports offerings–MLS Season Pass and MLB Friday Night Baseball. The feature will be available for MLS fans tomorrow when Matchday 8 begins at 7:30 pm ET.
With multiview, users can watch four games at once, displayed in a grid format on the screen. To use the feature, viewers can start watching the game of their choice and then select the “Add Game” button.
The multi-viewing experience is customizable in many ways — so we’re learning — and allows fans to move games around the screen, make one game bigger than others or choose to watch -view two or four at the same split screen. If a user wants one game to take up most of the screen, other games will be stacked to the right.
Fans can also switch between audio via the remote, so they can control which game they want to hear.
Similarly, YouTube TV is also testing a limited multiview feature that will only be available to a select number of US users.
Apple’s Friday Night Baseball games are included with a $6.99/month Apple TV+ subscription. However, consumers will have to pay $12.99 or $14.99 per month for the MLS Season Pass, depending on whether they are Apple TV+ subscribers or not.
Unlike Friday Night Baseball, which killed off its free offering this year, the MLS Season Pass allows non-subscribers to watch some MLS games for free. For Matchday 8, there are five games that fans can watch without signing up for a subscription. These include Charlotte vs. Colorado, Columbus vs. New England, Minnesota vs. Orlando, Toronto vs. Atlanta and San Jose vs. Kansas City.