If you own an older Apple TV, it might be time to upgrade. In a message to subscribers, Netflix has announced that the 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TV devices (the earlier, non-4K models) won’t be able to access the Netflix app after July 31, 2024.
That leaves four Apple TV models that support Netflix: the 4th-gen Apple TV HD and all three Apple TV 4K models. Apple stopped selling the Apple TV HD in October 2022, so if you need a new model, you’ll need to upgrade to the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation), which starts at $129. The 2nd-gen Apple TV was discontinued in 2012 while the 3rd-gen model remained on shelves until 2016.
To clarify: If you bought your Apple TV within the last 8 years you should be fine, and if you need a new one, the only model Apple sells now is the 3rd-gen Apple TV 4K which starts at a reasonable $129.
Netflix says it is ending support to “maintain the best possible Netflix experience,” so it’s not clear whether the app will stop working entirely on August 1 or if some features will be unavailable. The main difference between the 3rd-gen and 4th-gen Apple TV HD boxes is the chip (A5 vs A8), where the A8 is significantly faster and more capable.
The A5 chip is a single-core 32-bit system-on-a-chip while the 64-bit A8 has a dual-core CPU and quad-core GPU. The 1st-gen Apple TV 4K has an even newer chip, the A10X, which has a 6-core CPU and 12-core GPU.
Apple was expected to release a new Apple TV 4K in the first half of this year, but a new report claims that a new model “isn’t imminent.”
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.