tvOS 15.4 adds your Up Next list directly to the Apple TV video player for quicker access

tvOS 15.4 adds an Up Next list directly to the Apple TV video player for easier access to your queue of movies and television shows you’ve started to watch or plan on watching.

A still image from the April 2021 Apple event video in which executive Cindy Lin discusses the Apple TV 4K while standing in front of a TV in a living room set
  • tvOS 15.4 has added an Up Next list to the default Apple TV video player
  • You can now access upcoming content while watching another video
  • This saves you from going back to the main screen with your Up Next
  • tvOS 15.4 brings a new volume button to the system video player, too
  • Also, spatial audio controls have been updated in tvOS 15.4

The Apple TV Video player gains Up Next list

As spotted by ScreenTimes editor-in-chief Sigmund Judge on Twitter, tvOS 15.4 tweaks the system video player to make it more convenient to watch and navigate TV shows and movies in the TV app or any other apps that uses the system video player (excluding Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and HBO Max which use their own video players).

You’ll now notice a new Up Next button joining the video player’s existing Info button. Click the button to bring up the Up Next list containing movies and TV shows you’ve started watching or plan on watching. With just a click of your Siri Remote, you can start watching another show from your Up Next list without leaving the video player.

This is a significant improvement from the standard Apple TV video player found in the tvOS 15.3 software and older. Previously, you had to return to the show page and then get back to the main screen in order to access your Up Next list. Of course, the Up Next queue continues to be available from the main screen but now you can access it directly from the system’s video player, too. Read: How to offload unused apps on your Apple TV

Another tidbit: a new volume button is now available in the video player.

Controls for spatial audio on compatible AirPods have been tweaked as well. You’re recommended to check out the entire Twitter thread for several other changes in tvOS 15.4. As an example, tvOS 15.4 also introduces support for joining captive Wi-Fi networks (ones requiring additional sign-in steps) on your Apple TV, via an iPhone or iPad.

When will Apple release tvOS 15.4?

Apple is currently testing the first beta of tvOS 15.4 with its registered developers and public beta testers. On average, the company would release at least half a dozen betas before reaching a golden candidate stage when its software becomes ready for public consumption. If you’re not an Apple developer, you won’t be able to access your Up Next list via the refreshed Apple TV video player until tvOS 15.4 is released publicly.

We imagine the udpate will launch around this spring, or possibly even earlier. At ant rate, watch this space as we’ll be making sure to update you when tvOS 15.4 arrives.