William Gallagher
A new leak claims to have the complete compatibility list of Apple TV models that will be able to support the tvOS 26 upgrade that will be announced at #WWDC25.
The WWDC leaks continue with a compatibility list for the Apple TV and tvOS 26, following one for the Apple Watch, and a surprising one for the HomePod. This particular leak says that tvOS 26 will be available to users of these models:
- Apple TV HD (2015)
- Apple TV 4K (1st generation, 2017)
- Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021)
- Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022)
While the leak does not specify this detail, there are two models of the most recent Apple TV 4K 3rd generation but they are presumably both supported. The difference between the two is that one uses only Wi-Fi while the other also has Ethernet.
Just as with the Apple Watch and its watchOS 26 leaked compatibility list, this means that no models are being dropped this year.
It further means, though, that the only Apple TV models ever released that will not be supported are the first, second, and third versions of the original system. Apple itself started dropping support for the first generation model in 2018.
More recently, Netflix announced it was ending support for the second and third generation Apple TV models.
Separately, repeated rumors have been claiming that there will be a new Apple TV released some time in 2025. While it's only certain that tvOS 26 will be launched at WWDC 2025, it's conceivable — but extremely unlikely — that it will be done alongside a hardware announcement.
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
8 Comments
I sound like a broken record, but I am still hoping for that Gen 4 Apple TV 4K. 8 years running on the 1st Gen 4K has heavily shown its age between load times and connectivity. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great device, but I am hoping this AI craze pushes Apple to release a high-performance version, making this a good home device and maybe a mini gaming console.
Love my Apple TV, but I have a LOT of movies and shows I purchased over the years and the new TV app... well. It sucks.
Have persistent issues with tiles updating and as such the Movies library interface is almost unusable.
If people are springing for dedicated devices, then those devices should be able to do MORE. Not less.
Wow. I have the HD version. 10-years is a good run. I'm still very happy with it.
It's been a few weeks since I begged for hi-res audio support via Apple TV, both through Apple Music and streamed from my Mac, so here goes:
...does Apple want your data ...?