If you’re accustomed to traditional linear TV, transitioning to an Apple TV 4K with various streaming apps can involve a steep learning curve. You’ll deal with multiple accounts, apps, and login credentials — plus the hassle of typing them in using your TV remote.
Even for tech enthusiasts, entering credentials with a remote feels awkward and cumbersome.
Over the years, tvOS has introduced features to ease this pain, such as using a nearby iPhone’s keyboard instead of the on-screen one, or authenticating purchases via another Apple device. The Apple TV app’s Channels feature aimed to simplify streaming, but it has faced challenges in attracting major partners.
As 9to5Mac reports, Apple’s newest effort in tvOS 26 could finally change that.
tvOS 26 brings a new API that, once adopted by your preferred streaming apps, will likely eliminate the need to log in manually on Apple TV ever again.
Here’s how it works, based on Apple’s developer documentation:
The Automatic Sign-In feature offers a single sign-on experience for media-streaming apps. The first time a person signs in to your media-streaming service through your app, your app calls the Video Subscriber Account framework to prompt the person to opt in to Automatic Sign-In. If they agree, your app generates a string value token, or sign-in token… When the person runs your app on another device, the operating system supplies the sign-in token from their Apple Account, which your app uses to sign them in automatically.
MacDailyNews Take: Once services like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and others integrate this API in tvOS 18 and iOS 18, the experience across Apple ecosystem devices will be far smoother. Log in to Netflix once on your iPhone, and you’ll be automatically signed in on your iPad, Apple TV 4K, and everywhere else!
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