tvOS 26.4 Beta 2: Every Change Apple Is Making to Your Apple TV

Quick Brief

• tvOS 26.4 Beta 2 released February 23, 2026, build number 23L5219e, one week after Beta 1
• iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps permanently removed; all content now routes through the Apple TV app
• iTunes wishlists discontinued; users received Apple emails to migrate content to the Apple TV app Watchlist
• New Continuous Audio Connection toggle uses a Dolby MAT container to eliminate audio dropouts on HDMI receivers

Apple shipped tvOS 26.4 Beta 2 on February 23, 2026, completing a transition it began preparing users for in 2023. Two changes inside this update will affect every Apple TV owner: the permanent removal of the iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps, and a new audio setting that eliminates a long-standing HDMI dropout problem. Neither is cosmetic, and both are final.

iTunes Movies and TV Shows Apps Are Permanently Removed

Apple removed the iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps completely in tvOS 26.4. This completes a transition Apple began in December 2023 with tvOS 17.2, when opening those apps first started redirecting users to the Apple TV app instead of loading their own interface. At that time, the standalone apps still existed on the device but functioned as shells pointing elsewhere. tvOS 26.4 removes them entirely.

Every purchase, rental, and library item now lives exclusively inside the Apple TV app. Past purchases remain accessible inside the app under the Library tab, so no content is lost. The change also follows similar redirects Apple applied to the iTunes Store Movies and TV Shows sections on iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 in 2023.

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iTunes Wishlists Are Also Gone

tvOS 26.4 also permanently discontinues the iTunes wishlist feature. Apple sent emails to affected customers informing them of the discontinuation and providing links to transfer wishlist content to the Apple TV app’s Watchlist, which now serves as the single central list for saved content. The wishlist had been temporarily reintroduced on tvOS after user complaints following tvOS 17.2, but its removal is now confirmed as final.

Continuous Audio Connection Solves a Real HDMI Problem

The more technically significant change in tvOS 26.4 is the new Continuous Audio Connection toggle inside HDMI settings. The feature wraps audio output in a Dolby MAT (Metadata-Enhanced Audio Transmission) container, which keeps the audio signal alive and stable as your Apple TV switches between different audio formats, such as moving from stereo to Dolby Atmos mid-session.

Without this feature, audio receivers and soundbars connected via HDMI sometimes produced audible pops, clicks, or brief dropouts during format transitions. The Continuous Audio Connection toggle eliminates those interruptions by maintaining a persistent, encapsulated audio stream rather than re-establishing a handshake each time the format changes.

This is a targeted fix for users with AV receivers and soundbars connected via HDMI ARC or eARC. If your audio setup runs through a TV’s speakers directly, or uses Bluetooth, the toggle has no practical effect.

Spatial Audio Replaces the Dolby Atmos Label in Settings

tvOS 26.4 also updates the Audio Format settings menu, substituting the Dolby Atmos label with Spatial Audio. This is a terminology alignment, not a capability downgrade. Apple has been consolidating its audio branding under the Spatial Audio umbrella across its device ecosystem, and the tvOS settings now reflect that naming convention.

The underlying Dolby Atmos decoding capability remains present on Apple TV 4K hardware. The label change creates visual consistency between what users see in tvOS Audio Format settings and what they see across AirPods settings, iPhone, and Apple Music.

What tvOS 26.4 Beta 2 Specifically Adds

Second betas in Apple’s release cycle typically prioritize stability over new features. Apple has not published separate release notes specifically for Beta 2. The build number is 23L5219e, released February 23, 2026. No additional new features beyond those introduced in Beta 1 have been confirmed in Beta 2 as of February 24, 2026.

The three confirmed changes across the tvOS 26.4 beta cycle are:

• iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps removed permanently
• iTunes wishlist discontinued; Watchlist replaces it in the Apple TV app
• Continuous Audio Connection HDMI toggle added to settings
• Dolby Atmos relabeled as Spatial Audio in Audio Format settings

How tvOS 26.4 Fits Into the tvOS 26 Lineup

tvOS 26 launched on September 15, 2025, following its announcement at WWDC in June 2025. The base release introduced a Liquid Glass design system (on Apple TV 4K 2nd generation and later), a redesigned Apple TV app with cinematic poster art, profile-switching at startup, FaceTime with Live Captions, and an iPhone karaoke mode for Apple Music Sing (on Apple TV 4K 3rd generation only).

tvOS 26.4 is a point release focused on platform housekeeping and audio reliability rather than headline features. It represents the fourth significant update in the tvOS 26 cycle, following 26.1, 26.2, and 26.3.

Compatible Devices

tvOS 26, and by extension tvOS 26.4, is compatible with all Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models. Specifically, the supported devices are:

• Apple TV HD (2015)
• Apple TV 4K (1st generation, 2017)
• Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021)
• Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022, both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Ethernet variants)

Note that the Liquid Glass design requires Apple TV 4K 2nd generation or later and will not appear on Apple TV HD or the 1st generation Apple TV 4K.

tvOS 26.4 Beta 2 is currently available only to registered Apple developers. A public beta typically follows within one to two days of each developer build.

Considerations

tvOS 26.4’s Continuous Audio Connection feature benefits only users with HDMI-connected external audio equipment. Users routing audio directly through television speakers or using Bluetooth will see no functional difference. The iTunes app removal and wishlist discontinuation are permanent and cannot be reversed after updating.

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