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Release record

tvOS 12.0

Full article
Public release
Recorded milestones
12
Beta cycle
105d
Average interval
10d
Public release
Sep 17, 2018

Release notes

Overview

Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.

Release overview

tvOS 12.0 launched on September 17, 2018 with Dolby Atmos on Apple TV 4K, new space-based Aerials and location details, iOS password autofill, Siri-assisted device finding, and a broad security baseline.[1][2]

Evidence boundary

Dolby Atmos required Apple TV 4K and compatible audio equipment, while iOS password autofill depended on iOS 12. The page retains those dependencies and does not include 12.0.1 maintenance.[3][4]

Source ledger

References

Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.

  1. About the security content of tvOS 12

    Apple Support · Apple · 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z · Released September 17, 2018

    Back to text ↑
  2. About Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD software updates

    Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-29 · tvOS 12

    Back to text ↑
  3. About the security content of tvOS 12

    Apple Support · Apple · 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z · tvOS 12 security content

    Back to text ↑
  4. About Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD software updates

    Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-29 · tvOS 12; tvOS 12.0.1

    Back to text ↑

Documented & observed

Changes in this version

Source-linked features, fixes, known issues, removals, and community-observed behavior recorded across this version’s appearances and verified builds.

Release changes

Changed in this release

Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.

security · fixed

tvOS 12 security repairs

documentedconfirmed

Apple's advisory records a broad security baseline including memory-safety, privilege, sandbox, spoofing, disclosure, cross-origin, and code-execution fixes.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About the security content of tvOS 12 · Auto Unlock; Bluetooth; CFNetwork; CoreFoundation; CoreText; dyld; Heimdal; IOHIDFamily; IOKit; iTunes Store; Kernel; Security; WebKit

feature · introduced

Password autofill from iOS 12 devices

documentedconfirmed

The update reduced remote-based text entry by handing eligible app credentials from a nearby Apple mobile device to Apple TV.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD software updates · tvOS 12 — Autofill passwords

Milestones

Release history

Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.

  2. +15 days
  3. +14 days
  4. +14 days
  5. +13 days
  6. +7 days
  7. +7 days
  8. +7 days
  9. +7 days
  10. +4 days
  11. +12 days
  12. +5 days

    Public release

    Public

    Full articleEditorially verified

    tvOS 12.0 reached the public channel on September 17, 2018 with spatial audio, expanded Aerials, cross-device password entry, device-finding help, and security repairs.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    8 linked
    Open this appearance

Historical context

Cycle comparison

Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.

Historical avg for major releases

95 days, 9.7 milestones

Based on 10 previous tvOS .0 releases

Cycle vs. platform average

105d (avg: 57d)

48 days longer than the tvOS average

Duration ranking

#3 of 50

One of the longest tvOS beta cycles

Longest gap in this cycle

15 days

Between Beta 1 and Beta 2

Previous .0 releases (tvOS)

Previous comparable tvOS releases
VersionYearCycleMilestonesAvg. Interval
tvOS 26.0202598d1110d
tvOS 18.0202498d1011d
tvOS 17.02023105d1111d
tvOS 16.0202298d912d
tvOS 15.02021105d1012d
tvOS 14.0202086d1010d

Scroll horizontally to compare every historical field.

Official release notes