Earlier this month, YouTube TV launched a new “multi-view” feature that allows viewers to watch up to four sports content at once. Apple TV now appears to be working on a similar option. Apple’s streaming devices already support picture-in-picture mode, but new code found in the latest iOS beta shows the potential for 4-up multiview functionality.
The discovery was spotted in the iOS 16.5 Beta 1 build by developer Steve Moser and was first reported by Apple news site 9to5Mac.
Similar to the YouTube TV feature, the focus of Apple’s currently-developing multi-view experience appears to target more specifically the sports content it supports. That decision makes sense not only because of the broader competitive landscape, which includes multi-view options for services like YouTube TV and Fubo, but also because of Apple’s recent investments in streaming sports content.
Last year, the Cupertino-based tech giant announced its first-ever live sports deal with Major League Baseball, which will exclusively stream a number of its games to Apple TV+ in multiple countries, including the United States, and will release Fridays during the 2022 season. Started streaming Night Baseball. This was offered to viewers without requiring an Apple TV+ subscription. While the free offer has been discontinued this year and the game now requires his Apple TV+ subscription, the service is now available to subscribers in 60 countries around the world instead of his original 13. Now
Last year, the company signed a 10-year streaming deal with Major League Soccer to stream every MLS game from 2023. This package includes features such as the ability to stream games around the world.
Still, it’s clear that Apple sees sports content as an area of investment for its streaming service, which will make features like multi-view more useful for Apple TV customers.
References to Multiview have previously appeared in the iOS codebase, but the new beta sees more references than before, according to a new report. This indicates that this feature is currently being worked on more aggressively. For example, Moser told his TechCrunch there was a reference to “Watch in Multiview” four weeks ago.
The code also reveals what to expect from this product, such as how it appears to be tied to Apple’s TV app rather than features that work across Apple TV devices. Additionally, it appears that end users may be prompted to try options while browsing sports content in your app.
Apple has not officially announced this feature and, as a rule, does not confirm any plans in development.However, recent bloomberg According to reports, iOS 17, the company’s next big software release, will come with several “nice to have” features. It’s not yet clear what those features are, but multiview could be among them.
