Netflix is finally killing off support for 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited June 4

It's probably time to get rid of that thin second or third-generation Apple TV set-top box, as even Netflix is abandoning the older gear.

Black, rectangular Apple TV with rounded corners, shiny sides, and an Apple logo with the letters 'tv' on the top.
Apple TV second and third generation



In an email to customers, Netflix has warning users of old Apple TVs that their days of using the service on the decade-old hardware is coming to an end. In the email, the company says that it is sun-setting support for them on July 31, 2024.

It says that it is doing this to "maintain the best possible Netflix experience." It's not clear why the device is getting axed, other than age. Codec support may be an issue as well.

For now, Apple's Home Sharing, AirPlay. And Apple apps still work on the older device which were the last to have optical audio out. It feels like it's just a matter of time until the company turns them off, though.

The second- and third-generation Apple TV predate Apple's concept of an App Store for the hardware.

The first generation is long gone, and ran a variant of OS X. The second generation was launched in September of 2010, with the third generation following on in 2012. Both second and third-generation units used an offshoot of iOS.

They were effectively obsolete when Apple released the fourth-generation Apple TV in September 2015. It launched with tvOS, and an App Store.

The new Apple TV, released on November 4, 2022 is effectively the seventh generation of Apple TV hardware, not counting an incredibly minor hardware revision in the third generation. It is also the third unit capable of 4K.

By March 2015, Apple had sold a total of 25 million Apple TV units to date.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,214member
    Still using a third gen on occasion.  A lot of apps don’t work on them.
    kdupuis77mike1watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 14
    kdupuis77kdupuis77 Posts: 120member
    entropys said:
    Still using a third gen on occasion.  A lot of apps don’t work on them.
    Was using my last one at home until it bit the dust last summer. Put an AppleTV 4K in the living room and relegated that 4th gen one to guest room duty instead. Man, I can't believe Ive had those 4th gen ones since 2015-2016 wow lol.
    williamlondonJapheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 14
    VictorMortimerVictorMortimer Posts: 178member
    Didn't know Netflix still worked.

    Those old Apple TVs still come in handy for AirPlay.

    I suppose I should probably get around to jailbreaking the ones I have to make sure they keep working.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,322member
    Yeah. Time to buy a new 4K and move my older 4K ATV from a guest room to my bedroom, where my last 3rd gen resides.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 14
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 801member
    Netflix still works flawlessly on my 2nd Gen. There's no reason to shut it down, even if they don't support it anymore. "Use at your own risk" is always a better option than "no soup for you".
    I have newer AppleTVs, but, with one attached to every TV in the house, I'm only every going to upgrade the older ones when they die. Even if the only function left is AirPlay, that'll still allow it to do pretty much everything a new one can when I'm running it off my iPad.
    entropyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 14
    cincyteecincytee Posts: 419member
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    DAalsethwilliamlondonJapheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 14
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,842member
    NGL this won’t impact me at all. I stopped supporting Netflix almost a decade ago. Too much for too little. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 14
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,447member
    cincytee said:
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    If you're still on a CRT you clearly do not care about the quality of your image. Technology changes since then are hardly forced obsolescence.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 14
    stephenhouser99stephenhouser99 Posts: 9member
    I’m currently on the 4th gen and it’s hard to believe that got announced nearly a decade ago. I guess mine is on borrowed time too
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 14
    pana_zydepana_zyde Posts: 5member
    Couldn’t find this article through the search engine (keyword: Netflix), so I thought you haven’t reported about this. My apologise to the author about my question per mail.
    You still have my full support. Keep up the good job.
    Having some Apple TV 4k 64GB, I hope it will last long, because I don’t really need better HW.
    edited June 5 watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 14
    cincyteecincytee Posts: 419member
    cincytee said:
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    If you're still on a CRT you clearly do not care about the quality of your image.
    It's not that I don't care; it's a case of diminishing returns. The CRT with digital signal is perfectly acceptable. It's like the audiophile world: The best sound doesn't equate with the best musical performance.
    Technology changes since then are hardly forced obsolescence.
    No, they're not, and, if I want to get the very best in cutting-edge tech, I have no objection to that requiring that I buy cutting-edge devices. I do object to extorting me to buy new equipment to continue to get the service that already works fine.
    macguiwilliamlondonJapheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 14
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,373member
    cincytee said:
    cincytee said:
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    If you're still on a CRT you clearly do not care about the quality of your image.
    It's not that I don't care; it's a case of diminishing returns. The CRT with digital signal is perfectly acceptable. It's like the audiophile world: The best sound doesn't equate with the best musical performance.
    Technology changes since then are hardly forced obsolescence.
    No, they're not, and, if I want to get the very best in cutting-edge tech, I have no objection to that requiring that I buy cutting-edge devices. I do object to extorting me to buy new equipment to continue to get the service that already works fine.
    Doubling down on being a luddite in a technology forum, why the hell are you here?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 14
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,447member
    cincytee said:
    cincytee said:
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    If you're still on a CRT you clearly do not care about the quality of your image.
    It's not that I don't care; it's a case of diminishing returns. The CRT with digital signal is perfectly acceptable. It's like the audiophile world: The best sound doesn't equate with the best musical performance.
    Technology changes since then are hardly forced obsolescence.
    No, they're not, and, if I want to get the very best in cutting-edge tech, I have no objection to that requiring that I buy cutting-edge devices. I do object to extorting me to buy new equipment to continue to get the service that already works fine.
    Have you seen a modern television before? Nobody is extorting you, but the idea that a CRT "works fine" is ridiculous in the context of modern technology. AM radio still "works fine", but I wouldn't want to listen to music on it. I hope you have color, at least.
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 14
    cincyteecincytee Posts: 419member
    williamlondon said:
    cincytee said:
    cincytee said:
    Still happily watching a 25-year-old CRT TV with a digital converter. During commercials I get a beverage from my 55-year-old refrigerator, which soldiers on without complaint. The forced obsolescence of basically new hardware for something as mundane as watching TV is ridiculous.
    If you're still on a CRT you clearly do not care about the quality of your image.
    It's not that I don't care; it's a case of diminishing returns. The CRT with digital signal is perfectly acceptable. It's like the audiophile world: The best sound doesn't equate with the best musical performance.
    Technology changes since then are hardly forced obsolescence.
    No, they're not, and, if I want to get the very best in cutting-edge tech, I have no objection to that requiring that I buy cutting-edge devices. I do object to extorting me to buy new equipment to continue to get the service that already works fine.
    Doubling down on being a luddite in a technology forum, why the hell are you here?

    Not a Luddite. I just don't worship technology for technology's sake. It's a tool, and I want a better reason for being forced to change what I use than "because we *can* do it."
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