Apple Seeds First Beta of tvOS 14.5 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the tvOS 14.4 update.

apple tv 4k banner
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 14.5 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

With tvOS 14.5, Apple will begin enforcing its App Tracking Transparency privacy feature, which will require app developers to ask for and receive a user's permission to access their random advertising identifier (known as the IDFA) to track user activity across apps and websites.

Going forward, when an app wants to access the IDFA on tvOS, users will see a prompt with options to "Allow Tracking" or "Ask App Not to Track." Selecting "Ask App Not to Track" will prevent the app's developer from accessing the user's IDFA, and developers will also have to respect the user's tracking preference and refrain from using other methods to track users.

Apple's tvOS updates are often minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than major outward-facing changes. There's no word yet on what else might included in the tvOS 14.5 update, but we'll update this article should anything new be found. Though we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.

The main tvOS 14 update released in September brought expanded Picture in Picture support, new HomeKit integration with HomeKit Secure Video cameras, support for multiple Apple Arcade profiles, and more, with details available in our tvOS 14 roundup.

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

Popular Stories

apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
samsung glitter blue

Samsung's Year End Sale Introduces Major Discounts on Popular Monitors and TVs

Monday December 29, 2025 6:29 am PST by
Samsung kicked off a new end-of-the-year sale this week, introducing great deals on monitors, TVs, Galaxy smartphones, and home appliances. Many of these deals are the exact same all-time low prices we tracked during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep ...

Top Rated Comments

lec0rsaire Avatar
64 months ago
tvOS has turned out to be pretty solid. I’m still using the ATV 4 (HD) and I’m really impressed that the A8 with 2 GB RAM is still capable of running smooth nearly 6 years after it came out.

Apple’s optimization is really second to none.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aesc80 Avatar
64 months ago

Downloading now. Says "About 30 minutes remaining." Never had that long an updates, with ~200 Mbps here. Wonder if it's just slow, or if it's got something interesting to it.
It won't take that long. It took about 10 minutes on my end. My guess is their servers are getting slammed.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
solofest Avatar
64 months ago

Any word on Sony’s DualSense support?
Looks like at least one person has it working: [MEDIA=twitter]1356315795442327558[/MEDIA]
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jairopena Avatar
64 months ago
Apparently there is now support for 24.000 content, although it looks like 23.976 is broken now. At least there is something in the works, hopefully we see both formats in the end.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/apple-tv-4k-lacks-support-for-24-000-video.2961262/post-60466895
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)