Apple Seeds Second Beta of Upcoming tvOS 13 Update

Monday June 17, 2019 11:01 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to developers, two weeks after first unveiling the tvOS 13 software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the new tvOS 13 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌Apple TV‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

tvos13
tvOS 13 introduces an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews right on the Home screen, similar to Netflix.

Multi-user support is available for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the ‌Apple TV‌ so each family member can have their own customized ‌Apple TV‌ interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvOS 13 gets the ‌Apple TV‌ ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the ‌Apple TV‌, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. ‌Apple Arcade‌ will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.

As part of the ‌Apple Arcade‌ preparations, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an ‌Apple TV‌ over Bluetooth.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet."

tvOS 13 is available to registered developers at this time, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July. The software will see a public launch this fall.

What's new in tvOS 13 beta 2: The second beta of tvOS 13 introduces support for Picture-in-Picture. This feature lets you continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.

Related Roundup: Apple TV

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

Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Popular Stories

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by Joe Rossignol

iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...

• 29 comments

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...

• 333 comments

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by Juli Clover

Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...

• 51 comments

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...

• 63 comments

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...

• 151 comments

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...

• 25 comments

iOS 18.3 Leak Provides Clue About iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and iPad Air 7 Launch Timing

Wednesday January 22, 2025 9:39 am PST by Joe Rossignol

New information has surfaced that indicates the rumored iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and new iPad Air models are nearing launch. A private account on social media platform X today revealed that iOS 18.3 or iPadOS 18.3 will be preinstalled on all of those upcoming devices when they are released. It is still unclear exactly when the devices will launch, but this information suggests that Apple will...

• 8 comments

Top Rated Comments

Gizmotoy

73 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/17/apple-seeds-tvos-13-beta-2-to-developers/')
Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews right on the Home screen, similar to Netflix.

The rest sounds great, but I hope we can disable this. Not too excited to have Netflix’s most infuriating feature imposed on my Home screen.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Focusx0131

73 months ago

Picture-in-Picture is a welcome long overdue feature! Can’t wait till September!

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

aesc80

73 months ago

How’s beta 2 for those who dared?? Is it usable??

It's usable but there are times where the box just doesn't respond to the iOS app controller. Other than that, it's a massive improvement from beta 1.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)