Apple Releases Apple TV Software Version 4.4.4, Tweaks iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone 4S

apple tv 2010 obliqueApple today released a software update for the second-generation Apple TV, bringing the set-top box to version 4.4.4. The update arrives as Build 9A406a, but it is not yet clear what improvements are included in the release.

Apple TV software 4.4.3 was released last month and added support for Netflix streaming in Mexico and an audio output issue when the connected television set is turned off.

Curiously, Apple also appears to have released a slightly tweaked version of iOS 5.0.1 for the iPhone 4S [Direct Link]. The new version arrives as Build 9A406, an increment of one over the original release of iOS 5.0.1 last month.

The tweaked version of iOS 5.0.1 does not appear to be being offered to users currently running the original version of the software, but would be downloaded by any users upgrading to iOS 5.0.1 from this point on. Consequently, any change appears to be a minor one that Apple would like to pass along to users and can easily do so for new iOS 5.0.1 users with the tweaked update, but for which an entirely separate iOS 5.0.2 release is not warranted. The company is presumably bundling the changes into the forthcoming iOS 5.1 update that is currently in developer testing, and at that point all users would receive it as part of the larger update.

One possibility is that the tweaked update contains minor changes needed for the next round of international launches occurring tomorrow. iPhones sold in those countries may come with only iOS 5.0 installed, and users immediately updating to iOS 5.0.1 in those countries would receive the tweaked version updated for their markets.

Update: Apple has updated its Apple TV software release notes to report that the 4.4.4 update is a bug fix update that does not appear to bring any new features or compatibility.

Stability and performance: Apple TV software version 4.4.4 includes general performance and stability improvements, including a fix for an issue that displayed an error when playing some video content.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Caution)

Top Rated Comments

Small White Car Avatar
161 months ago
Percent of Macrumors posters who manually update to 9A406 despite having no evidence that they need it: Probably Large.

God bless you, tinkerers. You do stuff so that the rest of us don't have to.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d4rkc4sm Avatar
161 months ago
gist of front page story: apple releases software update but we dont know what it does so we'll just speculate for really no good reason at all
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scoobydoo99 Avatar
161 months ago
With the ATV2 update, Apple has once again been deceptively vague as to what they fixed.

So has anyone noticed what stability and bug fixes Apple made in the new update?

I'm hoping it fixes the
"An error occurred loading this content. Try again later."
error.

I was getting this every few days on both Netflix and locally streamed content from my MacBook Pro. Once I got it, nothing would play until I reset the ATV. In fact, I found the new ATV update by chance when I was restarting my ATV due to the error again!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ck2875 Avatar
161 months ago
It's been out for 3 or 4 days. Since they released the new iPhone updates.

Aren't all 4.4+ boxes already on iOS 5? You simply press the select button on the remote to switch from the Apple TV Software version (4.4) to the version of iOS the box is running (that screen).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SandboxGeneral Avatar
161 months ago
With the ATV2 update, Apple has once again been deceptively vague as to what they fixed.

So has anyone noticed what stability and bug fixes Apple made in the new update?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blueroom Avatar
161 months ago
I love my Apple TV 2.

Me too, great device for cutting the cable subscription. I updated to 4.4.4 without hesitation.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...