tvOS 17’s extra column of icons is its most useful new feature in years

• The new tvOS home screen in tvOS 17 puts six icons in a row instead of five. It was the most I had noticed about a tvOS update in years. [credit: Andrew Cunningham ]

Consider this a mini-review: Apple is releasing tvOS 17 today, and the update is probably the most useful one that Apple has released since the very early days of tvOS in 2015.

Why? Not because of some stunningly innovative new feature or a great app that tames the tangle of competing streaming services. It's because Apple added an extra column of app icons. There are now six icons in a row instead of five. Revolutionary.

That probably comes across as more sarcastic or cutting than poor tvOS deserves. It is genuinely nice to have that extra column of icons, particularly in the top row where apps can use the carousel that consumes the top half of the Apple TV's home screen.