As we already reported, the refreshed design of Apple TV 7.0 software includes a new set of flat, iOS 7/8-style icons and a new thinner font.

The new app for Beats Music, the subscription music service Apple purchased earlier this year, comes with the interface similar to that of other Apple TV channels and allows users to log into their Beats accounts to listen to streaming music from the Apple TV.

There is also a 14-day free trial for those signing up directly from the Apple TV.

Introduced at WWDC 2014, Family Sharing allows family members to share purchases from iTunes (music, movies, TV shows) and the App Store, as well as family calendar and photos.

Family members can browse and download each other’s iTunes, iBooks or App Store purchases. Up to six members can participate, each with their own Apple ID. Parents can create Apple IDs for children, which includes Ask to Buy, requiring parental permission for purchases.

Apple is also expected to soon change the way AirPlay works in iOS 8 by adding peer-to-peer, the same protocol which it used in AirDrop to share files.

Peer-to-peer AirPlay discovery and playback.
With iOS 8, you can wirelessly connect iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to Apple TV without first connecting to the organization’s network. Which means you can present or share your work even if you’re offline or the organization has a complex network.

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Apple has just released a minor software update 5.0.2 (9B830) for the 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TV. Apple’s support web page has not been updated but according to The Mac Observer, Apple TV 5.0.2 includes an Australia-specific issue with Parental Controls: the patch “addresses an issue which caused content restrictions to be incorrectly applied for the iTunes Store in Australia.” There are no new features added.

nitoTV tweeted that 5.0.2 firmware is still vulnerable to the pod2g’s untethered jailbreak for the Apple TV 2, so we can expect the updated version of FireCore’s Seas0nPass for Apple TV 5.0.2 soon. Seas0nPass has been updated for Apple TV 5.0.2. Still untethered.

According to ModMyi, the quiet nature of the software update “could prove essential to a bigger software release or product refresh coming out of WWDC next week.” BGR reported last week that Apple is planning to unveil a brand new version of the Apple TV operating system next week at WWDC. A “trusted source” has told BGR that the new OS will be much more feature-complete than the current Apple TV OS and that it’s apparently the one that the long rumored Apple TV set will run.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber believes Apple will be announcing something big at this year’s WWDC and his guess is a new developer platform and apps for Apple TV.

Apple will kick off WWDC with its keynote presentation at 10 a.m. PST on June 11^TH .

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