Apple Seeds Third Beta of tvOS 16.1 to Developers

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

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...

Top Rated Comments

George Dawes Avatar
41 months ago
Just update the apple arcade graphics beyond nintendo switch f*s

The ATV 4k has so much untapped potential it's soul destroying
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
41 months ago

TVos 16 broke HBO Max for me.
There was a sept 25 2022 update available of this HBO tvOS app.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
41 months ago

TVos 16 broke HBO Max for me.
This update is tvOS 16.1, and you likely need to check if your HBO Max app had a an update.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zapmymac Avatar
41 months ago

TVos 16 broke HBO Max for me.
Working for me. tvOS 16 official (no beta)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
41 months ago
[SPOILER="tvOS 16.1 Beta 3 Release Notes"]
[HEADING=2]GameKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Projects that import the GameKit framework or add Game Controller capability (for example, add the GCSupportsControllerUserInteraction property) may fail to build in this beta. (99878945)

[HEADING=2]Memory Allocation[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* The system memory allocator free operation zeroes out all deallocated blocks in tvOS 16.1 beta or later. Invalid accesses to free memory might result in new crashes or corruption, including NULL-pointer dereferences and non-zero memory being returned from calloc. (97449075)

[HEADING=2]TV Services[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in tvOS 16.1 beta 3[/HEADING]

* Fixed an issue where TVUserManager.shouldStorePreferencesForCurrentUser would erroneously always return false. (99846466)

[/SPOILER]
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bpeeps Avatar
41 months ago

This update is tvOS 16.1, and you likely need to check if your HBO Max app had a an update.
I'm aware. I deleted and reinstalled. Still broken. Works everywhere else though, iPad, smart TV, etc.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)