There was a lot to process in the WWDC 2023 keynote, not least the new Apple Vision Pro headset, so you might have missed this little update coming to the Apple TV.
Changes to TVOS 17 include a redesigned control centre, which gives you easier access to headphone and speaker settings, home security cameras, system controls and user profiles. Your Siri Apple TV remote can now be found using the Find My function on your iPhone, for when you lose it down the back of the sofa, and memories can be used as screensavers.
The biggest change though was the addition of the FaceTime app to the Apple TV offering. This will make use of the continuity camera functionality, turning your iPhone or iPad into a webcam for your TV. I'm not saying I called this, but I did see this coming when the continuity camera feature was launched last year.
You can start calls on your Apple TV or iPhone, or hand active calls over to the Apple TV when you like. It still makes use of the Centre Stage feature to frame you properly within the shot and also includes a new gestures feature, to add animations. You can also use SharePlay to watch any of your Apple TV content with people on your FaceTime calls.
The feature also opens up the continuity camera to other video call apps, with Zoom and Webex apps due to join the Apple TV lineup later in the year. What I'd love to see is the technology opened up to external webcams, or at least an Apple webcam that you could have more permanently on your TV.
The video shows a handy MagSafe mount for the iPhone being used in front of the TV, which could be another Belkin device, like the Belkin adapter for monitors launched last year. If so, I definitely want one.
This might not have been the biggest announcement at WWDC, but it certainly made my day.
