Apple seeds seventh developer beta of tvOS 16

Apple has handed out its seventh developer beta of tvOS 16 to testers to try out on their Apple TVs.

The latest builds can be downloaded by developers in the beta-testing scheme via the Apple Developer Center, or as an over-the-air update for hardware already using earlier beta builds. A public beta version of the releases is expected to start arriving soon, and will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program website.

The seventh takes over from the sixth from August 15, which replaced the fifth beta from August 8, while the fourth beta of tvOS 16 landed on July 27. Apple's third beta of tvOS 16 was distributed to testers on July 6.

The second beta landed on June 22, while the first appeared after the watchOS 9 were introduced shortly after the WWDC keynote on June 6.

Final public versions of all of Apple's milestone operating systems are expected to be released by the fall. The seventh developer beta for HomePod software version 16 is also available to members of the AppleSeed closed beta.

The seventh tvOS 16 beta is build number 20J5371a, replacing the sixth, build 20J5366a.

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While Apple didn't directly mention tvOS 16 during WWDC itself, there are still a number of improvements in the set-top box's operating system. Matter support for HomeKit, HDR 10+ format support, a new Remote Control app, Nintendo Switch controller support, and other UI refinements are on the way.

AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly advises users don't install the betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the remote possibility of data loss or other issues. Instead, testers should install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to make sure there are sufficient backups of important data before updating.

Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].