Apple Seeds Second Beta of tvOS 16.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 16.1 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming one week after the launch of the first beta.

apple tv 4k design blue
tvOS updates are typically minor, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than outward-facing changes. No new features were found in the first beta of tvOS 16.1.

Apple shares some information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch. tvOS 16 brought enhanced multiuser support, Personalized Spatial Audio when using AirPods, and Accessibility improvements.

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.

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

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...

Top Rated Comments

Rhodes187 Avatar
24 months ago
Crazy that Apple does bare minimum for the Photos app on the AppleTV. Here's this conduit on the perfect screen to view all your photos/videos, yet browsing them is painful. Why have they not implemented a search by date/person/location/etc etc to explore your content?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
audiomixer Avatar
24 months ago

Hope they fixed the volume issue.
Did they? I’ll update mine in the morning and see. My current 16.1 volume conrtol is working after much fanfare.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gator5000e Avatar
24 months ago
OK, guys. Waiting on any reports of what it does, if anything.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
izzle22 Avatar
24 months ago
Hope they fixed the volume issue.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BKDad Avatar
24 months ago
"tvOS updates are typically minor" ?

Since the tvOS 16 update this morning, my volume control doesn't work. The dedicated Apple supplied hardware volume control!

After the upgrade, it asks for additional Apple ID credentials. But, no problem. Just hold your iPad running iPadOS 16 (cruel joke) up to the Apple TV or your iPhone running iOS 16 and some magic will occur. Well, I tried with my new iPhone running iOS 16. I got to the point where it asked me to type in the secret four digit code that was on screen. So, I did. Then, it all stopped and I got a friendly message telling that whatever was going to happen didn't work right then, so try again later. I did. Nothing. Unplugged the Apple TV and tried again. Nothing. Tried a third time and still nothing. Then, I realized that this was just some sadistic joke on Apple's part. Just how could anybody enter the Apple ID information if they didn't own an iOS 16 wielding iPhone? There's no way I found to do any of it manually. I'd be pleased if somebody could show me how I'm wrong about this.

Y'know how holding down both those buttons on the remote for a few seconds used to initiate a restart? No more! (To be fair, I quit after about 8 seconds both times I tried.) This is important because of how often some apps cause the Apple TV to suddenly stutter and turn the sound into something from the original Buck Rogers serials with Buster Crabbe. Restarting is the fix. Since getting through the menus to the Setting that allows a software restart is so difficult once the stuttering begins, that means unplugging the Apple TV. Part of the Apple Health through exercise software, no doubt. Note that I've witnessed this stuttering bug through three different Apple TVs on two different TV sets, even going back to an Apple TV HD model. Even unloading each app - all video streaming apps, no games - doesn't help.

If I could roll back to the last version of tvOS, I'd do it in a second.

Over the last several updates, I haven't found anything that's worked better or provided much of anything new. Except new bugs.

I get the idea that Apple's culture is such that testing and fixing bugs is something that is frowned upon and anybody doing that work is being punished. Only cool new stuff, no matter how flaky it comes out, is worthy of putting effort into. Some friggin culture.

OTOH, we just bought a refurb iMac with an i7 processor in it that was apparently built just before Apple switched to Apple silicon for their new iMac products. Not as fast as Apple silicon, of course, but we bought it to run Windows 10 under Boot Camp. It works great with Monterey installed. Way better experience than this tvOS "upgrade." So, I'm not just being negative toward Apple.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)