As expected, Apple announced way too many things at its annual WWDC event. Between the Vision Pro headset, the new MacBook Air, and the iPhone’s new smart display feature, some very interesting stuff fell through the cracks—including third-party VPN support for Apple TV.
Third-party VPN support arrives with the TVOS 17 update this fall. It will allow brands like NordVPN and ExpressVPN to develop VPN clients specifically for Apple TV set-top boxes. Of course, there’s no telling when such apps will actually launch.
A VPN is usually just a privacy tool. But you can also use a VPN to watch geo-restricted content on some streaming services. If you connect to a VPN server in South Korea, for example, you may gain access to Netflix’s Korean library.
And a VPN may also allow you to watch local sports broadcasts that aren’t offered in your region. If you want to get around those blackout restrictions on MLB.tv, for example, you should really look into a VPN.
To be clear, Apple isn’t the first company to offer third-party VPN support on its TV hardware. The Android TV and Fire TV platforms have offered this feature for a long time. But VPN support is rarely included on smart TVs or streaming sticks, so this is still a very notable announcement.
Apple will launch the TVOS 17 update sometime this fall. If you’re itching to use a VPN on your Apple TV, I suggest that you just wait for the update. The only other option is to run a VPN on your router, or to run Apple TV traffic through a computer with a VPN (if you own a Raspberry Pi, look into PiVPN).
Source: Apple via CNET
