Apple Seeds Eighth Beta of Upcoming tvOS 13 Update to Developers

Apple today seeded eighth beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the seventh beta and more than two months after 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.

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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 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." There's also a new Picture-in-Picture feature. Picture-in-Picture 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.

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tvOS 13 is available to registered developers and public beta testers at this time and will see an official public launch this fall alongside iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, and watchOS 6.

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Top Rated Comments

dugbug Avatar
75 months ago
I wish we could tell the tv app to only show content we pay for.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
75 months ago
I wish we could tell the tv app to only show content we pay for.
Agreed. AppleTV has become one big advertisement.

Such a shame. There used to be a time when Apple had better taste than to follow PC makers down the rat hole of loading crapware on their devices. Now, Apple the services company, is compromising user experience for revenue.

Reminds me of the US automakers. And once the ethos is gone and the marketing suits and “engagement/conversion/community managers” take over, the magic is gone.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ButteryScrollin Avatar
75 months ago

Frankly I hate what they've done with top shelf on the TV and Music apps. I really hope they add the option to disable the full screen advertisements. Otherwise both apps will go into the dreaded Apple folder at the bottom.
yeah I want the Up next queue back. tuned on the Apple TV yesterday to put something on for my 2 year old, and it started a full screen trailer for Jon Wick 3 of people getting stab :/
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unfunfionn Avatar
75 months ago
I wish we could tell the tv app to only show content we pay for.
Right. Otherwise it's basically ads directly on the home screen in place of the extremely useful Up Next feature.

Frankly I hate what they've done with top shelf on the TV and Music apps. I really hope they add the option to disable the full screen advertisements. Otherwise both apps will go into the dreaded Apple folder at the bottom.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iDento Avatar
75 months ago
Which store you know does that?
The Apple TV is a hardware, not a store. And, it's not a cheap one.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JMAndiSmith Avatar
75 months ago
The user profiles is pretty useless. I buy all the movies and TV shows on my profile so my kids need to do a silly workaround to get access to my movies via iTunes Store.

my kids hate it and rather just use my profile and I get it. I hate it too.

Easy solution. Make all movies and tv shows available in the TV App library.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)