Apple’s tvOS 18 software automatically turns on subtitles on your Apple TV when you press the Mute button on the Siri Remote while the video is playing.
With the video playing, muting will automatically toggle subtitles. Press the Mute button again and subtitles go away, as first spotted by 9to5Mac.
This handy shortcut is available in all apps the use Apple’s standard video player, excluding third-party apps using a custom video player, like Netflix and HBO Max.
There doesn’t seem to be a way to turn this functionality on or off in the second beta of tvOS 18, but this could change ahead of the software’s launch in the fall.
Apple TV: The Mute button turns on automatic subtitles
This is one of those quality-of-life improvements that Apple should have brought a long time ago. Instead of pausing the video and using the remote to select the subtitles button above the progress indicator, I can just hit the Mute button.
This also works on the iPhone, iPad and Mac so long as you have iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia installed and a Siri Remote paired on those devices.
Aside from this appreciated tweak, tvOS 18 doesn’t bring many noteworthy new features. AirPlay now supports the streaming of spatial audio from an iPhone or iPad to an Apple TV, a HomePod speaker or compatible third-party Hi-Fi equipment.
tvOS 18 brings live captions to FaceTime
And the tvOS FaceTime app now supports live transcription of video calls on the second-generation Apple TV 4K and newer, thanks to real-time captions (limited to English in the United States and Canada at launch).
To test those features ahead of time, you need to download and install the tvOS 18 Developer Beta on your Apple TV by following the step-by-step instructions in our tutorial. Or, you can wait until the tvOS 18 Public Beta becomes available in July.