After July 31, Netflix will no longer support second and third generation Apple TVs. Netflix has updated its support page for Apple TV, indicating that older Apple TV models will stop working with Netflix at the end of next month, according to CNET.
Apple launched the second-generation Apple TV in 2010 and followed up with the third-generation model in 2012. Although they have a nearly identical design to the current 4K model, launching in 2022, they are underpowered in comparison, with only HD support and no App Store compatibility for Apple TV.
The second and third generation Apple TVs are also outdated by Apple’s current standards: the company ended all support for the devices seven years after their launch dates – seven and five years ago, respectively.
Although Netflix is available on all platforms, supporting an app on such a wide range of hardware requires a lot of resources. Netflix, like other app makers, analyzes how their app is used and determines which devices are no longer providing the resources needed to ensure they work with their software. Now the company has determined that older Apple TV models fall into this category.
Netflix has made similar decisions before. For example, they ended support for a range of older TVs and didn’t bother to develop an app for the Vision Pro.
Going forward, it’s unclear when Netflix will phase out support for other Apple TV devices. But given that the fourth-generation model was launched in 2015 – just three years after the third-generation version – it might not be long before it meets the same fate.
This article was originally published in our sister publication Macworld Sweden and was translated and adapted from Swedish.
