Apple on Monday seeded the first public beta of tvOS 16 for testing. The tvOS 16 beta is compatible with the Apple TV 4K (1st and 2nd generation) and the Apple TV HD.
Public beta testers can sign up on Apple’s public beta website. They can download the tvOS 16 public beta update by opening up the Settings app on their Apple TV, going to the Software Updates section under “System,” and then toggling on “Get Public Beta Updates.”
tvOS 16 brings cross-device connectivity, a feature that allows developers to integrate Apple TV apps with iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch apps to provide new experiences on Apple TV. Multiple user profiles work in tvOS 16 by adding a shared keychain, so users won’t need to sign in and choose their profile when launching an Apple TV app.
Game controller support now supports the Nintendo Joy-Cons and Pro Controller, and HDR10+ support is available in the tvOS 16 Apple TV app. Apple TV will add support for Matter, a new standard that will improve interoperability between smart home accessories from various companies.
As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on their daily driver Apple TV, especially early betas of new operating systems. Instead, only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes.