Apple Seeds Third tvOS 14.5 Beta to Developers

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta software coming two weeks after Apple released the second 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.

We don't yet know if there's anything else included in tvOS 14.5 in terms of features because tvOS updates are often minor in scale, but 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.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Third tvOS 14.5 Beta to Developers

 

[Realityck]

Hope the fractional AND integer frame rates playback is better. Play content on CW app shows flickering.

 

[edk99]

Please seed new remote. That is all I need.

 

[icanhazmac]

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.

Never thought about this on an Apple TV, thanks again Apple!

 

[jwolf6589]

Please seed new remote. That is all I need.

Remote works fine with me.

 

[iAdamator]

Maybe they can make AirPlaying Dolby Vision video taken on an iPhone 12 work…

 

[Kylo83]

where's watchOS?

 

[w5jck]

Remote works fine with me.

It is a piece of junk as far as I’m concerned. Form over function. Fortunately my Sony Bravia remote uses HDMI-CEC and does a much better job on the TV 4K than Apple’s remote.

 

[easy4lif]

Where’s the 6th gen Apple TV?

 

[Cosmosent]

Fine, but would really like to see a Next-Gen Box with more DRAM !

 

[BWhaler]

Please tell us this release fixes the Library tab in the Apple TV app. It’s been busted for years.

Years.

 

[Mayhem SWE]

It is a piece of junk as far as I’m concerned. Form over function.

Ehh. Remote is a mixed bag for sure. In Apple provided apps, it tend to work just fine and behave as expected. In third-party apps however it is often wildly inconsistent how far the "cursor" moves for any given input. The YouTube app is perhaps the best/worst example of this.

 

[RedTheReader]

Maybe they can make AirPlaying Dolby Vision video taken on an iPhone 12 work…

AirPlay not being powerful enough is the only big complaint I have for my Apple TV. I think Apple may have messed up by not using a Chromecast style mechanism, where the streaming box picks up the source and streams it directly. I’m guessing it’s more difficult to push big 4K and Dolby Vision/Atmos through an iPhone to the Apple TV, which is why we can’t do it. Of course, that can’t work when streaming content stored locally on the phone, so it’s got drawbacks.

I don’t know, really. I just know that I find it easier to navigate content on my phone instead of directly on the TV, and it would be nice if I could get 4K, Dolby Vision, Atmos, and all the other fancy stuff through AirPlay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Juicy Box]

The YouTube app is perhaps the best/worst example of this.

The Siri Remote on the YouTube app can be very frustrating sometimes.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Siri Remote, and a lot of the hate comes from when using YouTube.

 

[mrbrown]

This release seems to have killed CEC for me. Trying to use my remote to control my Apple TV does nothing, after much resetting (including a restore from factory defaults) and if I sit on the "Remotes" area of System Preferences and press buttons on my TV's remote, the "Control Apple TV via HDMI" flashes repeatedly from "Yes" to "No".

Needless to say, I'm very annoyed.

 

[upandown]

This release seems to have killed CEC for me. Trying to use my remote to control my Apple TV does nothing, after much resetting (including a restore from factory defaults) and if I sit on the "Remotes" area of System Preferences and press buttons on my TV's remote, the "Control Apple TV via HDMI" flashes repeatedly from "Yes" to "No".

Needless to say, I'm very annoyed.

As you know CEC is very temperamental. If I may, try this;
1) Turn everything off
2) Unplug the HDMI
3) Turn on the tv only
4) Plug in the HDMI
5) Turn on Apple TV

Hope that helps

 

[upandown]

Hope the fractional AND integer frame rates playback is better. Play content on CW app shows flickering.

Out of curiosity, perhaps there is a tv setting that is interfering with Apple TV’s newly found feature? Since it’s actually working as it should maybe something needs to be adjusted? Just a thought.

I was oldly enough getting stuttering with frame matching turned off. I enabled frame matching and it’s gone. Not sure if something needed to be cycled or if there really is a bug. It’s different then your case but I thought I’d mention it.

 

[agf1997]

Since upgrading to tvOS 14 I've had non-stop issues "All home hubs are not responding" / "A home hub is responding".

Disconnects about every 30-45 mins for about 5-10 mins. Insanely frustrating and I know it's directly related to tvOS14 as it started happening immediately after upgrading.

Tried reinstalling, log out of iCloud everywhere, log back in, turning off homekit, turning it back on. You name it. Just keeps happening. It's the only home hub in the house so 🤷‍♂️

Just hoping it's a bug that's finally fixed in 14.5

 

[curtis242]

Since upgrading to tvOS 14 I've had non-stop issues "All home hubs are not responding" / "A home hub is responding".

Disconnects about every 30-45 mins for about 5-10 mins. Insanely frustrating and I know it's directly related to tvOS14 as it started happening immediately after upgrading.

Tried reinstalling, log out of iCloud everywhere, log back in, turning off homekit, turning it back on. You name it. Just keeps happening. It's the only home hub in the house so 🤷‍♂️

Just hoping it's a bug that's finally fixed in 14.5

I’ve been having the exact same issue, reported it through feedback app.
having the CEC issue aswell on 14.4.

 

[iAdamator]

AirPlay not being powerful enough is the only big complaint I have for my Apple TV. I think Apple may have messed up by not using a Chromecast style mechanism, where the streaming box picks up the source and streams it directly. I’m guessing it’s more difficult to push big 4K and Dolby Vision/Atmos through an iPhone to the Apple TV, which is why we can’t do it. Of course, that can’t work when streaming content stored locally on the phone, so it’s got drawbacks.

I don’t know, really. I just know that I find it easier to navigate content on my phone instead of directly on the TV, and it would be nice if I could get 4K, Dolby Vision, Atmos, and all the other fancy stuff through AirPlay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

When they announced the iPhone 12 they said you would be able to AirPlay DV videos taken on your phone to ATV and it’s yet to work. I am just disappointed is all as I was excited about taking videos in HDR and having an easy way to play them back. (My phone is our families main video camera.)

 

[x-evil-x]

Please seed new remote. That is all I need.

Use your phone

 

[btbeme]

After installing several hundreds of “connected devices” to clients’ TVs, the AppleTV device is still the hands-down most simple and elegant device to maneuver through. “Smart” TV menus are a godforsaken mess filled with ambush apps and advertising and an unbelievable clutter, with very few exceptions. I connect an awful lot of ATVs to so-called Smart TVs as a solution, with very few callbacks.

That said, the ATV remote is still a difficult learn for a lot of my elderly clients. I bought a couple hundred aluminum remotes a few years back and supply them to folks who need a more simple experience. The ATV remote is a classic example of being too clever by half, an unwieldy Apple mistake that frustrates as many people as it pleases.

 

[btbeme]

Use your phone

There is a huge, mostly aged generation that finds subtle fingertip strokes and tiny non-tactile buttons to be difficult or impossible to maneuver. Methinks that, just like touch-screen computing and lots of “smart home” paraphernalia, simplicity with positive feedback (the click of a button) is much more user friendly for a lot of friendly users.

 

[scottsjack]

It is a piece of junk as far as I’m concerned. Form over function. Fortunately my Sony Bravia remote uses HDMI-CEC and does a much better job on the TV 4K than Apple’s remote.

Exactly. My Bravia remote is so much better than the minimalist, Jony Ive-like POS that came with my Apple TV 4K.

 

[scottsjack]

After installing several hundreds of “connected devices” to clients’ TVs, the AppleTV device is still the hands-down most simple and elegant device to maneuver through. “Smart” TV menus are a godforsaken mess filled with ambush apps and advertising and an unbelievable clutter, with very few exceptions. I connect an awful lot of ATVs to so-called Smart TVs as a solution, with very few callbacks.

That said, the ATV remote is still a difficult learn for a lot of my elderly clients. I bought a couple hundred aluminum remotes a few years back and supply them to folks who need a more simple experience. The ATV remote is a classic example of being too clever by half, an unwieldy Apple mistake that frustrates as many people as it pleases.

You are completely correct. I have not even tried Hulu or Netflix via my Bravia's menu. The Apple TV is just too easy to operate. The Google software on my Sony is not nearly as smart as the Apple software in my ATV 4K.