Apple is working on a new quad-box Picture-in-Picture feature for Apple TV sports streams, according to iOS 16.5 beta code. The references were first spotted by Steve Moser, and they’re described as a new “Multiview” experience for the Apple TV app. With that, users will be able to have four sports streams at once on iOS 16.
ESPN and FuboTV already offer quad-box PiP streaming for tvOS users, and now Apple wants to deliver a similar experience as it’s expanding its sports offering. As of now, the company has deals with Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball. The company is currently planning to bid for the English Premier League, which could be a huge addition to its sports offering.
When Apple unveils the quad-box Picture-in-Picture feature, the user will be able to start this Multiview mode while they’re browsing the sports section in the TV app. Apple TV will ask if the user wants to watch in Multiview or Full Screen.
The strings mention a grid layout of up to four streams. If the user tries to add a fifth game, an error message will say, “Remove a game first to add a new one.”
While references to a quad-box Picture-in-Picture have popped up on iOS code for some time now, it seems Apple is finally putting effort into this feature, as there are way more references in iOS 16.5. As of now, it seems this new function will be exclusive to tvOS and won’t expand to iOS or iPadOS.
In addition, Apple is also expanding its sports offering by adding the long-awaited Sports tab in the Apple News app. When the company closes more deals with leagues, it’ll probably bring an exclusive tab to the TV app.
As the new beta cycle follows, BGR will let you know if Apple continues to work on this feature or if it’s going to launch only with the next tvOS big cycle version.
