Apple’s tvOS 16 didn’t get quite the same buzz as iOS 16 and iPad OS 16, but it gave Apple TV 4K users some much-needed upgrades. Now, they’re getting one more.
As reported by our colleagues over at T3 (opens in new tab), Apple quietly gave tvOS 16 HDR 10+ support. HDR10+ is an HDR standard for video content that is similar to HDR10 and DolbyVision. Apple’s tvOS already supported these standards but until now had not adopted HDR10+.
This was a problem for anyone who owned a Samsung TV, as Samsung TVs only support HDR10+. This is largely due to HDR10+ being designed by Samsung, but also because DolbyVision is not free to use. Companies have to license it, unlike HDR10, which is an open standard. Google is even working on its own HDR10+ variant called Project Caviar, which like HDR10 would be an open standard that anyone could use.
But for now, Apple TV 4K users won’t have to worry about that. The streaming box now supports HDR10, DolbyVision and HDR10+, so whatever HDR-capable TV you have, you’re probably covered. Apple also updated its Apple TV app on Samsung Smart TVs to support HDR10+ too, so you don’t even need an Apple TV to reap the benefits.
How to enable Apple TV HDR10+ content on your Samsung TV
The good news is that you don’t actually have to do anything to get HDR10+ enabled on your Apple TV 4K or Samsung Smart TV Apple TV app. As long as you have the latest version of tvOS 16 or the Samsung Apple TV app, you should be good to go. Make sure to check out our guide on how to download Apple tvOS 16 so everything goes smoothly.
There is one caveat: the content has to be formatted in HDR10+. If the content isn’t provided to Apple in that format, Apple cannot magically make the content in HDR10+ format. Make sure to check out our Black Friday TV deals so you can snag an HDR-enabled TV today to watch all the best content Apple TV has to offer.
