Apple Releases tvOS 12.1 Update for Fourth and Fifth-Generation Apple TV

Apple today released tvOS 12.1, the second update to the tvOS 12 operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 12.1 comes just over a month after the release of tvOS 12.0.1 and six weeks after the September launch of tvOS 12.

tvOS 12.1 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System -> Software Update. Apple TV owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 12.1 automatically.

appletv4k2
It's not clear what new features or bug fixes are included in the tvOS 12.1 update. We didn't find any major new changes during the tvOS 12.1 beta testing period, and Apple doesn't provide release notes for tvOS releases, so there's not often a lot to go on.

If we discover what's new in tvOS 12.1, we'll update this post with additional information.

tvOS 12.1 follows the tvOS 12 update, which introduced support for higher-quality Dolby Atmos sound, zero sign-on, and new aerial screensavers created in collaboration with the International Space Station.

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

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

smithrh Avatar
85 months ago
The problem is not with the article/MacRumors, but rather with Apple who discloses almost nothing, next to nothing, and many times nothing at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GIZBUG Avatar
85 months ago
“It's not clear what new features or bug fixes are included in the tvOS 12.1 update.”

I wish the articles on here, like this, gave readers relevant information....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NM Bound Avatar
85 months ago
Dear Apple,
Thanks for nothing. I've invested a lot of money over 3 decades in your products and ecosystem including several Apple TV's. I'm pretty sure I don't understand or utilize many of the outstanding features you engineer into your consumer infrastructure which includes the latest and greatest TV OS upgrade. I might buy an Apple Watch now that I can see the value of monitoring personal health reports I can forward to my physician; I'm getting old and there could be life-extending benefit from understanding issues and events linked to my heart and/or falling down which the watch will record.

But every few months when your firm has an opportunity to reveal 'THE NEXT BIG THING' in the Apple universe, it quickly disappoints, underwhelms and serves one more marketing opportunity to hawk products like so many seasonal runway model events in the personal lifestyle clothing world. And of course, when I really need to make a fashion statement, I end of buying a shirt at Walmart because it's cheap and functional.

But I digress...
NM Bound
Las Cruces, NM
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mefisto Avatar
85 months ago
Let's see if this, in combination with iOS 12.1 stops the constant notifications for keyboard entry on my phone! It would be nice if that's the case.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuffaloTF Avatar
85 months ago
12.0 didn't introduce Zero Sign On. We're still waiting for that.

Let's see if this, in combination with iOS 12.1 stops the constant notifications for keyboard entry on my phone! It would be nice if that's the case.
That's a feature, not a bug.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M.Rizk Avatar
85 months ago
A very much doubt it's a feature that the phone wants me to start typing while watching a show on Netflix, for example. Or just scrolling though the home screen. Or just launching an app, any app. Or wanting me to type something in the middle of the night while I'm asleep in the other room.

But maybe I've misunderstood the feature.

edit: Damnit, it happened again. While watching TV on another input than the one the aTV is on.
I have had the Apple TV 4k for a month and never got such a notification unless there was a text field on screen. Weird.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)