Apple released the fifth beta of tvOS 14.5, and MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered some minor but significant changes in the update. Throughout the operating system, Apple is replacing references to the “Siri Remote” with “Apple TV Remote.”
In countries where Siri functionality isn’t available on the Apple TV, the Siri Remote has always been referred to as the Apple TV Remote, but Apple is now referring to the remote as the Apple TV Remote in countries where Siri functionality is available.
This could just be a general clean-up of the language so there’s no need to refer to it as the Siri Remote any longer, but it does imply that the next-generation Apple TV remote will be called something other than the Siri Remote.
Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the Apple TV that will be released this year, along with a redesigned remote control with the Find My feature. At this time, nothing else is known about the remote.
The “Home Button” under the “Remotes and Devices” section of tvOS 14.5 is renamed to “TV Button,” but the functionality remains the same, and it can be set to go to the Apple TV app or the Home Screen. This, too, could be a future distant tweak.
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Support for the latest PlayStation and Xbox controllers was added in earlier betas, and frame rate options were tweaked, with Apple now offering 29.97Hz and 59.94Hz refresh rates instead of 30Hz/60Hz.
There’s also a new option for selecting “Other Wireless Speakers” as the Default Audio Output, as well as modifications to the Podcasts app to bring it in line with the improvements introduced in iOS 14.5.
