Apple Seeds Third Beta of tvOS 17.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 17.1 to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming a week after the launch of the second tvOS 17.1 beta.

Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue
Registered developers can download the tvOS 17.1 update by opting in to the beta through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A registered developer account is required.

tvOS updates are often minor in scale compared to other operating system updates, focusing primarily on bug fixes and smaller improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes. tvOS 17.1 adds a new favoriting option to the Music app on the ‌Apple TV‌, along with some other minor Music changes.

Apple shares some information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch, but Apple does not provide notes during beta testing.

Though we don't often know much about what's new in tvOS betas, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download new software upon release. Apple has also seeded a new beta of HomePod 17.1 software for developers.

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

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next 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. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1

Monday September 22, 2025 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The new betas are the first updates to the iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS releases that came out last week. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going...

Top Rated Comments

Danilo - Italy Avatar
26 months ago

I was confused why the icons were smaller. I agree with you. Is this another case of Apple not doing adequate user testing, and making assumptions based on their own well-financed setups?
The new six mode works well only if you have a big screen, from 55 inch and up. I my opinion the clock is really small too. Maybe at Apple they have only 65/85 inch screens.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GaryMumford Avatar
26 months ago

The new six mode works well only if you have a big screen, from 55 inch and up. I my opinion the clock is really to small. Maybe at Apple have 65/85 inch screens.
Maybe it's just me, But I only have a 49" TV and think the 6 icons are so much better than the 5. I think 5 icons are way too big!!!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobscape Avatar
26 months ago

tvOS 17.1 DB3 broke the ability to swipe using my iPhone (running 17.1 DB3) as the remote.

Restart hasn’t fixed it.
Works fine on both my iPad and iPhone, both running 17.1. Just to be clear, the remote app has benn deprecated. Functionality has been migrated to the control panel.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
26 months ago

Hopefully 17.1 adds a way to switch back to the 5 column grid .. (is there a setting that I'm missing?) the 6 column grid icons are too small on my parents TV..

Why isn't this a user-adjustable setting? Not everyone has a 75"+ TV FFS...
I was confused why the icons were smaller. I agree with you. Is this another case of Apple not doing adequate user testing, and making assumptions based on their own well-financed setups?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
melapple Avatar
26 months ago

Maybe it's just me, But I only have a 49" TV and think the 6 icons are so much better than the 5. I think 5 icons are way too big!!!
Agree, and I own a 43” TV. What do people need huge tvOS app icons for? With 6 apps per row there’s less scrolling needed.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RGPphotog Avatar
26 months ago
I'm just gonna drop a ProTip™ in here, that as a replacement to an actual remote App, a Shortcuts "app" button works quite well. I find that's easier/faster to get to than the control panel. I keep it in a "Favorites" folder on my dock.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)