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

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta software coming one week after Apple released the fifth tvOS 14.5 beta.

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.

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.

In tvOS 14.5, Apple is removing mentions of the "Siri Remote" and replacing them with "‌Apple TV‌ Remote" across the operating system. This could be just a general cleanup of the language because there's no real need to refer to it as the ‌Siri‌ Remote anymore, but it also suggests that the next-generation ‌Apple TV‌ remote will not be called the ‌Siri‌ Remote and will have a simpler name.

The update renames the "Home Button" under the "Remotes and Devices" section to "TV Button," but the functionality is ultimately the same and can be set to go to the ‌Apple TV‌ app or the Home Screen.

Other new features include frame rate options of 29.97Hz and 59.94Hz instead of 30Hz/60Hz, an optional "Type to ‌Siri‌" Accessibility feature that can be enabled, which mirrors the Type to ‌Siri‌ feature on iOS devices, a new option for choosing "Other Wireless Speakers" as the Default Audio Output, and tweaks to the Podcasts app to bring it in line with the changes introduced in iOS 14.5.

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.