Apple Releases First Public Beta of tvOS 17

Apple today seeded the first beta of the upcoming tvOS 17 update to its public beta testing group, allowing the general public to download and test the update ahead of its September launch.

apple tv 4k design triad
Public beta testers can download the tvOS 17 beta by opening up the Settings app on Apple TV, choosing the Software Updates section under System, and then toggling on the Get Public Beta Updates option. Signing up on Apple's public beta website is also required.

tvOS 17 adds FaceTime to the ‌Apple TV‌, with an iPhone or iPad serving as the camera. The ‌FaceTime‌ interface shows up on the bigger display of the TV, and Center Stage keeps you front and center as you move around the room. There's even a Split View option so you can use ‌FaceTime‌ while watching TV or playing a game on the other part of the screen.

tvos 17 facetime
There's a revamped Control Center that makes it quicker to get to key settings and information without needing to go into the Settings app, plus it supports useful shortcuts and tools that are customized for each user.

If you have a second-generation Siri Remote, you can use the ‌Apple TV‌ Remote section in the ‌iPhone‌'s Control Center to track it down, preventing you from losing your remote.

Other new features in tvOS 17 include new aerial screen savers, screen savers based on the Memories section of the Photos app, an enhance dialogue option to make it easier to hear what's being said on a TV show or movie, and more. Additional details can be found in our Apple TV roundup.

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

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

Gator5000e Avatar
19 months ago
Maybe I will stop gettng the same 3 screen savers over and over. Especially that overhead one of the street in Dubai I think it's Dubai). I am so sick of that one.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
19 months ago

My ATV 4k refuses to update to this. Every time it runs through the process it stays at the most recent 16PB. I give up.
Try turning off beta updates, then re-enable beta updates, with agreement, and see if ti show up, it should.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
19 months ago
The dialogue volume update is the most important one
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smithrh Avatar
19 months ago
Guessing we'll have to wait for third-party VPN devs to come up with VPN access?

At this point, the only non-VPNed devices that I have are ATVs...

(Not for region shifting, but keeping traffic and traffic patterns away from my ISP)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bebarhood Avatar
19 months ago

There's a Beta VPN (FloVPN) but I haven't been reading good things about it. Many have signed up for one month and end up being charged for a year with no recourse. The log where you have been, etc. On a positive note----it works so (hopefully) more VPNs will follow, soon.
I was thinking more of the current apps available for iOS and iPadOS. I am curently subscribed to ExpressVPN and hoping that tvOS 17 will support it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
19 months ago
Really looking forward to FaceTime.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)