Oliver Haslam on June 7, 2023, 7:30 pm

tvOS 17 Adds VPN Support To Apple TV

The Apple TV is finally going to get support for VPN apps when the tvOS 17 update ships later this year.

Apple confirmed the news in a press release sharing details about the new software.

The tvOS 17 update was announced during a media event at WWDC 2023 on June 5 and while it doesn’t bring any huge changes to the Apple TV interface itself, it does bring support for a type of app that has been long overdue.

According to Apple’s press release the new tvOS 17 update will add support for VPN apps for the first time, allowing companies to distribute apps similar to those that are available in the App Store on the iPhone and iPad. When used, Apple TV owners will be able to connect to VPN services at will.

Third-party VPN support, which enables developers to create VPN apps for Apple TV. This can benefit enterprise and education users wanting to access content on their private networks, allowing Apple TV to be a great office and conference room solution in even more places.

Using a VPN will allow people to watch content from other countries by connecting to a server located in that part of the world. It’s something that people have been able to do on other platforms, including Apple’s, for years. But the Apple TV has so far not been included.

That changes with tvOS 17, but the update isn’t expected to be available to the public until some time in or around September, so we all have a little while to wait yet.