YouTube Discontinuing 3rd-Generation Apple TV App, AirPlay Still Available - MacRumors
Skip to Content

YouTube Discontinuing 3rd-Generation Apple TV App, AirPlay Still Available

by

YouTube is planning to stop supporting its YouTube app on the third-generation Apple TV models, where YouTube has long been available as a channel option.

youtube apple tv
A 9to5Mac reader received a message about the upcoming app discontinuation, which is set to take place in March.

Starting early March, the YouTube app will no longer be available on Apple TV (3rd generation). You can still watch YouTube on Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, iPhone, or iPad. With AirPlay, you can also stream YouTube from your iOS device directly to any Apple TV (3rd generation or later).

Third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ owners will no longer be able to watch YouTube directly on the ‌Apple TV‌ after the app goes defunct, but YouTube content can be AirPlayed to the ‌Apple TV‌ from an iPhone or iPad, a method that is less convenient.

This discontinuation is applicable only to the third-generation Apple TVs, as YouTube stopped supporting the second-generation ‌Apple TV‌ models back in 2015. The fourth and fifth-generation ‌Apple TV‌ models are not impacted as these models have access to the tvOS App Store, which is not available on the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌.

Tag: YouTube

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium

New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed

Sunday August 30, 2026 7:54 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9. While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. ...
Read Full Article • 146 comments
Mac mini vs Studio Feature Sans Text 1

Apple Caught Off Guard by AI Demand for Mac Mini and Mac Studio

Sunday August 30, 2026 8:52 am PDT by
Apple's unusually timed announcement of new Mac mini and Mac Studio models this week was driven by unexpectedly strong enterprise appetite for AI hardware, according to The Information. Apple normally releases new Mac models in the autumn, closer to October or November, making this week's announcement unusually early, falling just before the anticipated arrival of new iPhone models. The...
Read Full Article • 244 comments
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Seemingly Made a Mistake When Announcing the New Mac Studio

Monday August 31, 2026 11:19 am PDT by
Apple's press release for the new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips last week initially stated that the computer had "next-generation SSD architecture built on PCIe Gen 6." However, as spotted by the French blog MacGeneration, Apple removed the PCIe 6.0 mention from the announcement shortly after it was published. The press release still mentions that the new Mac Studio has a...
Read Full Article • 69 comments

Top Rated Comments

n0va Avatar
n0va
73 months ago
this makes me so sad and i dont even have a 3rd gen tv
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
speg
73 months ago
Why does it have to be removed? Can’t it just keep working without additional “support”?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoeShades Avatar
JoeShades
73 months ago

This does not make sense... Doesn't Apple TV third gen run exactly the same OS as Apple TV 4th gen and later? I would understand if they are stuck at older AppleTV OS, but that is not the case.
no
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
John.B Avatar
John.B
73 months ago

Not the same is. Apple stops supporting 3rd gen Apple TV long ago.
Inaccurate.

TV+ channel support was added to the 3rd gen AppleTV one year ago. appleinsider.com/articles/19/05/13/apple-tv-channels-arrive-on-third-generation-apple-tv-and-in-tvos-123-update ('http://appleinsider.com/articles/19/05/13/apple-tv-channels-arrive-on-third-generation-apple-tv-and-in-tvos-123-update')

The 3rd gen AppleTV got an update to 7.6.2 just a few weeks ago; one of the fixes was for the YT video app. support.apple.com/en-us/HT202157 ('http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202157')
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TVreporter Avatar
TVreporter
73 months ago
Disappointing to hear - would it really take much to keep it supported? Sure you can’t watch 4K video on it but the bulk of the videos still offer lower quality settings.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
rictus007
73 months ago
To be honest they provided support for quite a few years.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments