Update: Spectrum subscribers now report that the app is slated to launch on December 13th. 

With tvOS 12, Apple announced a new feature it calls “Zero Sign On,” which simplifies the login process for TV streaming applications.  Apple originally said that Charter Spectrum would be the first TV provider to support the feature, with a new Charter Spectrum app for Apple TV and Zero Sign On launching before the end of the year. 

As we approach the end of 2018, we still don’t have any confirmation about when these features will launch, but there’s evidence to suggest it will be sooner rather than later. 

According to a report on Reddit, Charter Spectrum is currently in the process of training its employees on the new Apple TV app.  While this doesn’t offer a hard launch date by any means, it does show that the cable provider is in the final stages of its own testing. 

Further, another Reddit user reports that the Charter Spectrum app for Apple TV is “in final internal beta testing” and user acceptance testing.  According to this user, the current target launch date is December 3rd.  Anecdotally, this is the same date 9to5Mac heard rumored as a Zero Sign On launch date, but we had been unable to verify its accuracy.  Update: We’re also hearing December 10th as a possible launch date.  It’s possible the launch date could vary in different markets, as well. 

At this point, of course, nothing has been confirmed by Charter Spectrum or Apple.  A launch date sometime in December does make sense as Apple had previously set forth a target date of this year.  Delays, however, are certainly possible and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the launch pushed sometime into 2019. 

Zero Sign On is Apple’s followup to its Single Sign On feature.  So long as the Apple TV is connected to home Internet, Zero Sign On means users will never have to enter their TV login information, with Zero Sign On authenticating through the network connection instead. 

Apple’s original announcement read:

“Apple TV simply detects the user’s broadband network and automatically signs them in to all the supported apps they receive through their subscription—no typing required.  Zero sign-on begins with Charter later this year and will expand to other providers over time,”

Meanwhile, Charter Spectrum’s Apple TV app will provide subscribers to “hundreds of live TV channels and tens of thousands of on-demand” TV shows and movies. 

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