Apple Seeds Fourth tvOS 14.5 Beta to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta software coming two weeks after Apple released the third tvOS 14.5 beta.

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

tvOS 14.5 brings support for the latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers, which can be used to play games from the tvOS App Store and Apple Arcade.

play station dualsense controller
Support for the new controllers has also been included in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, so the latest gaming controller options from Sony and Microsoft are now compatible with Apple's product lineup.

We don't yet know if there's anything else included in tvOS 14.5 in terms of features because tvOS updates are often minor in scale, but the release of tvOS will see Apple begin enforcing its new App Tracking Transparency rules, with developers now required 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 for ad customization purposes.

Going forward, when an app wants to access a person's advertising identifier on tvOS, users will have 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 invasive cross-app tracking methods.

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)

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Top Rated Comments

B/D Avatar
59 months ago
The most important new feature of tvOs 14.5 (not mentioned in this article) is proper frame matching implementation, which now supports both 23,976fps AND 24,000fps. No more frameskip in a lot of content.

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1613548043
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aesc80 Avatar
59 months ago
Too bad I don't game as much on the tvOS. Still neat to be seeing PS5 controllers being supported.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CavemanUK Avatar
59 months ago
Just been watching a movie after the latest beta and I don’t recall ever seeing age ratings in the top left when you start of playback. was this their before? It fades after a few seconds.





Attachment Image
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
59 months ago

Library tab still broken?

It’s only been broken for two years, so hopefully someone, somewhere inside of Apple has gotten around to fix it.
If you actually using the latest PB's, check it again with this version, and if the same write feedback concerning the specific Apple apps you see issues. Its not going to be fixed just posting here in every beta thread. ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IT Troll Avatar
59 months ago

Strange that this article and some other articles fail to mention the new frame matching implementation.

I guess is something too specific. Some people dont even notice the frameskip in 24,000fps content.
It is completely bizarre that they haven't mention it once in any of the beta news articles, but go into some detail about app tracking privacy.

They could just include something high-level like, "improved content matching to ensure smooth video playback". After all, video playback is the device's raison d'etre.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)