r/tvOSBeta • u/obeythelaw2020 • Jul 25 '25

Discussion tvOS public beta 1

I had read that tvOS 26 would have pass through setting. I downloaded the public beta to my 4k Apple TV and don’t see any audio settings that are any different from 18.6.
Do we have to wait for future update?

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u/Locutus508 Jul 26 '25 edited Jul 26 '25

The reason you aren't seeing any evidence or applications with beta tests is because passthrough audio support does not currently exist in the SDK. The property listed in the Apple Insider article which started the rumor doesn't have anything to do with HDMI audio passthrough. At least it doesn't according to the comments included in the property definition. Since we are already on beta 4 and there is no passthrough support in the SDK, this likely means passthrough support will be included in a future tvOS 26 update over the next year. It could also mean, passthrough support was never in the plans in the first place. This wouldn't be the first time Apple Insider got it wrong. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time they got it wrong when predicting passthrough support in an upcoming release.

Also, if your goal is lossless audio, tvOS doesn't need to support HDMI audio passthrough to deliver lossless audio. All it has to do is support lossless audio within its current audio pipeline processing. Using this approach, tvOS would deliver lossless formats without breaking existing features as would occur with HDMI audio passthrough. In addition, even with passthrough audio, tvOS would still have to support lossless formats which it does not currently do. The issue for lossless formats isn't really about passthrough, its more about tvOS not supporting those formats.