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

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support 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 ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

Rhodes187 Avatar
37 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
37 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
37 months ago
OK, guys. Waiting on any reports of what it does, if anything.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
izzle22 Avatar
37 months ago
Hope they fixed the volume issue.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BKDad Avatar
37 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)