Skip to Content

Apple Seeds Third Beta of tvOS 12.1 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second update and three weeks after releasing the tvOS 12 update.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 12.1 beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. Subsequent betas can be downloaded over-the-air.

appletv4k2
We're not yet sure what fixes and changes the tvOS 12.1 update might bring, but it's likely to focus on bugs that have been discovered since the release of tvOS 12. No new changes were discovered in the first two tvOS 12.1 betas.

Apple's tvOS updates have historically been minor in scale, and Apple does not often provide us with detailed notes outlining what's new, but we'll update this post should any changes be found in the third beta.

Update: Apple has also seeded a new beta of tvOS 12.1 to public beta testers.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Are Still Missing, Here's Why

Thursday March 5, 2026 6:11 am PST by
Apple this week unveiled seven products, ranging from the iPhone 17e to the MacBook Neo, but new Apple TV and HomePod mini models were not among them. Given that there have been rumors about the next-generation Apple TV and HomePod mini since all the way back in late 2024, some customers are wondering why the devices have yet to launch, and the answer likely relates to Siri. In September, ...
MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

Wednesday March 4, 2026 6:15 am PST by
Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads,...

Top Rated Comments

97 months ago
"We're not yet sure what fixes and changes the tvOS 12.1"
I think only the rejected Apple devs are giving TV OS to work on - can't recall the last ground breaking feature that has been delivered for this platform
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
97 months ago
"We're not yet sure what fixes and changes the tvOS 12.1"
I think only the rejected Apple devs are giving TV OS to work on - can't recall the last ground breaking feature that has been delivered for this platform
Dolby Atmos was pretty huge...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)