tvOS 11

tvOS 11 beta 3 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2017

Aside from releasing third betas of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, Apple today also seeded tvOS 11 beta 3 (build number 15J5324f) for the fourth-generation Apple TV to its registered developers and members of the paid Apple Developer Program.

No new outward-facing user features have been added in beta 3.

Non-developers can test tvOS 11 betas by signing up for Apple's Beta Software Program at beta.apple.com. Be sure to sign up through your computer using the same Apple ID you use for iCloud services on your devices, then go to Settings → System → Software Updates on your Apple TV and enable the feature labeled Get Beta Updates.

The Software Update mechanism on your Apple TV will now put up a prompt when a new tvOS 11 beta is available for download.

tvOS 11 includes minor features like the ability to synchronize your Home screen layout across multiple Apple TVs via iCloud, automatic switching between Light and Dark mode based on local time, new background multitasking modes, notification support, custom sound support, layered image improvements, right-to-left language support and other tidbits.

Apple launches public betas of iOS 11 and tvOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 13, 2023

Following the June 5 release of developer-only previews of Apple's four main software platforms at the Worldwide Developers Conference, the Cupertino giant today released first public betas of iOS 11 and tvOS 11.

You must enroll in the official Apple Public Beta Software Program (available at no charge) and download a special configuration profile via the website beta.apple.com to your iPhone, iPad, or the fourth-generation Apple TV.

Sign in with your Apple ID through the website to get started. iOS 11 public beta has the same features as iOS 11 beta 2. The same goes for the tvOS 11 public betas.

After installing a configuration profile (click “Enroll Your Devices”), restart your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or the fourth-generation Apple TV, then and use the built-in Software Update mechanism in the Settings app to download and install the public beta.

watchOS betas are not available to the general public.

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“If you were testing a prior operating system, please re-enroll your device to start testing the next release,” the company notes.

TUTORIAL: How to unenroll from Apple Beta Software Program

Be sure the check out the official system requirements for iOS 11 before installing their public betas. tvOS 11 requires a fourth-generation Apple TV.

Will you be taking iOS 11 and tvOS 11 for a spin, do you think? If so, what features are you looking forward to the most, and why?

Tell us in comments!

Updated builds of iOS 11 and tvOS 11 betas now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2017

Apple on Monday issued a slightly revised build of iOS 11 beta 2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as an updated build of tvOS 11 beta 2 for the fourth-generation Apple TV.

The new builds appear on select devices only.

iOS 11 Developer Beta 2 Update 1, as it's called, has the build number of 15A5304j, up from the build number of 15A5304i in iOS 11 beta 2 which was seeded to developers five days ago.

According to the official release notes on Apple's Dev Center portal, iOS 11 Developer Beta 2 Update 2 resolves an issue preventing reverting to iOS 10 from iOS 11 beta.

To revert to an earlier version of iOS, follow the instructions shown in Apple's support doc.

As for the updated tvOS 11 beta, the new version has a higher build number of 15J5310h versus build number of 15J5310e for the original tvOS 11 beta 2.

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The revised beta builds may also patch dangerous exploits while addressing performance issues on older hardware like iPhone 6.

iOS 11 cuts off 32-bit devices like the iPhone 4s/5/5c handsets.

The new builds are available over the air via the Software Update mechanism in Settings on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV. As mentioned before, they appear on select devices.

Build numbers for beta 2 of macOS High Sierra 10.13 and watchOS 4 have stayed intact. Public betas of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra 10.13 and tvOS 11 are coming later this month.

watchOS betas are currently unavailable for public beta-testing.

Video: Top 6 WWDC 2017 announcements

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2017

Apple had a pretty big day at yesterday's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, revealing a bunch of new or updated products and technologies that have set the stage for other important hardware announcements this fall.

If you didn't have the time to sit through the entire keynote talk and are wondering about the big takeaways, our video editor Andrew O'Hara has put together a short five-minute video highlighting the top six announcements Apple made during the WWDC 2017 keynote.

Andrew's main topics of interest include:

tvOS 11 with Amazon's Prime video-streaming app coming to Apple TV watchOS 11 with all the major improvements for workouts, notifications and more macOS High Sierra and core technologies aimed at AR/VR content creation iOS 11 with all of the improvements for your iPhone and iPad iPad Pro and iMac Pro changes and enhancements HomePod, Apple's high-end Siri-enabled speaker with hi-fi sound

And here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQBulSRR9Fc

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What's your favorite WWDC 2017 announcement so far?

How to SSH into your jailbroken Apple TV 4 or 4K and change your root password

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated April 15, 2019

With several Apple TV jailbreaks in use by our readership, it's important to remember that with them comes both the power and risk of running SSH connections to your device.

Once jailbroken, you may want to tinker around with the device, grab your apticket off of it, copy files to and from it, or investigate the filesystem. To do this you'll need to connect to it from another device via SSH. In this guide we'll take you through how to do just that, as well as how to protect yourself by changing the default passwords.

Apple TV should gain Picture in Picture and multiple user support with tvOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2017

A report Monday by the Israeli outlet The Verifier has it that the next major update to the operating system powering the Apple TV set-top box will include support for Picture-in-Picture mode and the ability for multiple users in a household to share the device with multi-user logins.

Picture-in-Picture launched on iOS 9 two years ago. Currently available on compatible iPad and Mac models, Picture-in-Picture allows users to watch videos in a floating window while multitasking.

Next-generation Apple TV running tvOS 11 spotted in usage logs

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

An unreleased model of the Apple TV set-top box running tvOS 11, the next major revision to the device's operating system, has appeared in developer logs, as first spotted by co-founder and programmer at Firi Games, a Dutch studio that creates games for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. A device carrying the “AppleTV 6,2” identifier reportedly uses an IP address suggesting it's being tested in Cupertino.