Apple Releases tvOS 12.1 Update for Fourth and Fifth-Generation Apple TV

Apple today released tvOS 12.1, the second update to the tvOS 12 operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 12.1 comes just over a month after the release of tvOS 12.0.1 and six weeks after the September launch of tvOS 12.

tvOS 12.1 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System -> Software Update. Apple TV owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 12.1 automatically.

appletv4k2
It's not clear what new features or bug fixes are included in the tvOS 12.1 update. We didn't find any major new changes during the tvOS 12.1 beta testing period, and Apple doesn't provide release notes for tvOS releases, so there's not often a lot to go on.

If we discover what's new in tvOS 12.1, we'll update this post with additional information.

tvOS 12.1 follows the tvOS 12 update, which introduced support for higher-quality Dolby Atmos sound, zero sign-on, and new aerial screensavers created in collaboration with the International Space Station.

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

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

smithrh Avatar
95 months ago
The problem is not with the article/MacRumors, but rather with Apple who discloses almost nothing, next to nothing, and many times nothing at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GIZBUG Avatar
95 months ago
“It's not clear what new features or bug fixes are included in the tvOS 12.1 update.”

I wish the articles on here, like this, gave readers relevant information....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NM Bound Avatar
95 months ago
Dear Apple,
Thanks for nothing. I've invested a lot of money over 3 decades in your products and ecosystem including several Apple TV's. I'm pretty sure I don't understand or utilize many of the outstanding features you engineer into your consumer infrastructure which includes the latest and greatest TV OS upgrade. I might buy an Apple Watch now that I can see the value of monitoring personal health reports I can forward to my physician; I'm getting old and there could be life-extending benefit from understanding issues and events linked to my heart and/or falling down which the watch will record.

But every few months when your firm has an opportunity to reveal 'THE NEXT BIG THING' in the Apple universe, it quickly disappoints, underwhelms and serves one more marketing opportunity to hawk products like so many seasonal runway model events in the personal lifestyle clothing world. And of course, when I really need to make a fashion statement, I end of buying a shirt at Walmart because it's cheap and functional.

But I digress...
NM Bound
Las Cruces, NM
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mefisto Avatar
95 months ago
Let's see if this, in combination with iOS 12.1 stops the constant notifications for keyboard entry on my phone! It would be nice if that's the case.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuffaloTF Avatar
95 months ago
12.0 didn't introduce Zero Sign On. We're still waiting for that.

Let's see if this, in combination with iOS 12.1 stops the constant notifications for keyboard entry on my phone! It would be nice if that's the case.
That's a feature, not a bug.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M.Rizk Avatar
95 months ago
A very much doubt it's a feature that the phone wants me to start typing while watching a show on Netflix, for example. Or just scrolling though the home screen. Or just launching an app, any app. Or wanting me to type something in the middle of the night while I'm asleep in the other room.

But maybe I've misunderstood the feature.

edit: Damnit, it happened again. While watching TV on another input than the one the aTV is on.
I have had the Apple TV 4k for a month and never got such a notification unless there was a text field on screen. Weird.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)