Apple Seeds tvOS 15.5 Release Candidate to Developers

Apple today seeded the release candidate version of an upcoming tvOS 15.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming one week after the release of the fourth beta.

Apple TV tvOS 15 Feature
Developers can download the new tvOS 15.5 update by downloading a profile onto the ‌Apple TV‌ using Xcode.

tvOS updates are typically minor in scale, focusing primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than major outward-facing changes.

Though we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.

As of now, we have not found new features in tvOS 15.5 and there's no word on what might be in the update beyond bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements.

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

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
46 months ago

YouTube HDR playback support please. Please. Please. If it's something Google needs to do, then do it. Please.
Support of reading metadata from Amazon for auto mode switch too. FILMMAKER MODE. :)
Thats only on ATV4K 2nd gen. The ATV 4K 1st gen A10X Fusion SoC doesn't support hardware decoding of VP9 videos.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
46 months ago

2nd gen Apple TV 4K supports YouTube HDR, but with a caveat. YouTube doesn't support tvOS's Match Dynamic Range feature. So to watch, you need to change Apple TV's Video Format setting to HDR (HDR10), then flip it back to SDR when you want to watch non-HDR contents.

I've reported this bug to Google earlier, as I am sure others have, but it remains unfixed.

To be fair, some of Apple's own features and apps don't support Match Dynamic Range either -- Photos and screensavers.
I have it connected to a LG OLED. If I set the 2nd gen 4K to its default 4K@60Hz HDR with last few betas. It correctly switches to Dolby Vision automatically and doesn't have any issues with YouTube working SDR to HDR10 automatically. Just don't set the ATV4K 2nd gen to have a GUI using 4K Dolby Vision at all. I have both match dynamic range and frame rate set to auto.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B/D Avatar
45 months ago

Which is why Apple needs to add bitstream passthrough, so our soundbars & AVRs can decode the audio. Period.
Very true. I agree. I think it wont happen though, because of Siri and other system sounds that Apple want to have mixed unto the audio stream.

I hope I´m wrong.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B/D Avatar
46 months ago
Is EARC still in beta?.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
45 months ago

Exactly my point. NO. That method is an archaic delivery schema for data. Leave "normally" in the past where it belongs.

We don't want to do that anymore a la HDMI 2.1 & its features: QMS, QFT, VRR via FRM (24.95Hz or 30/60Hz for YouTube), etc.

The way forward isn't the "normally" way.

Cease with the pre-HDMI 2.1 way of thinking, that's not the direction the industry is headed. Apple needs to catch up because it's clearly not pushing the envelope.
Why is it a archaic delivery schema for the bitstream? The AVR is nothing more the a HDMI repeater, it does nothing to the video data, and is a far superior decoder for the audio going to amp driving your speakers. They have AVRs that are now 8K capable pass through. You trust the audio quality more from the source to TV and back to AVR?

Is this coming from the gaming perspective because you mentioned QFT? Lets also remember Apple is notorious slow on supporting HDMI standards, so everyone talks about HDMI 2.1 on a ATV 4K so we need to wait for the next ATV4K to see if its added.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
InauguralHobbit Avatar
45 months ago

Why is it a archaic delivery schema for the bitstream? The AVR is nothing more the a HDMI repeater, it does nothing to the video data, and is a far superior decoder for the audio going to amp driving your speakers. They have AVRs that are now 8K capable pass through. You trust the audio quality more from the source to TV and back to AVR?

Is this coming from the gaming perspective because you mentioned QFT? Lets also remember Apple is notorious slow on supporting HDMI standards, so everyone talks about HDMI 2.1 on a ATV 4K so we need to wait for the next ATV4K to see if its added.
Not at all from the gaming perspective. QMS because because I don't wish to wait 3 full-count seconds when playing media in Dolby Vision / HDR10--switching from SDR. QFT for the same reason, but in regard to switching from 59.95Hz to 24.95Hz for films & 30/60Hz for YouTube content.

And an HDMI 2.1 port ('https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/specs/') is already on the 2021 2nd-Gen ATV 4K. These features can be & should be implemented via firmware within tvOS. This is no longer a hardware issue.

I prefer perma-MAT > PCM for 5.1 & MAT for Atmos. It's an annoyance dealing with pops & crackles when changing from 5.1 to Atmos content & vice versa, and it can't be good for the channel drivers in sound systems over time.

But I believe we're at an impasse. We simply believe one method is superior to the other. Connecting directly to a soundbar/AVR may have had the upper-leg pre eARC & HDMI 2.1, but now with bigger bandwidth pipelines for faster & larger data transfer that is no longer the case--or shouldn't be.

The software needs to be perfected & implemented. That will take time, I presume.

HDMI 2.1 bandwidth limits support QMS & QFT without the need for any of the gaming (120Hz) aspects. That aside, Apple really pushed this ATV in its marketing throes for Apple Arcade, so it's honestly a matter of Apple holding to their word of updating their software capabilities.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)