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tvOS 26 is Compatible With These Apple TV Models

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Apple has seeded the first tvOS 26 beta to developers for testing, and we have confirmed that the software update is compatible with all Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models.

tvOS 26 Apple Newsroom
It is particularly impressive that tvOS 26 supports the original Apple TV HD model from 2015, although the new Liquid Glass design and some other added features are limited to the newer Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).

Apple says the first tvOS 26 public beta will be available next month, and the update will be released to the general public later this year.

Apple shared a press release outlining several new features and changes coming with tvOS 26, including the option to automatically display profiles when the Apple TV wakes, an enhanced Apple Music Sing experience, and more.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forums: Apple TV and Home Theater, Apple, Inc and Tech Industry

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Top Rated Comments

S
svish
10 months ago
Good that even the older models are supported. Very long software support. Very happy to hear this.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
schillers_mullet Avatar
schillers_mullet
10 months ago
Sure hope they fix the continuity camera. It's a game changer being able to use FaceTime on tvOS, but the reliability is really poor for group calls. Drops constantly.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
jz0309
10 months ago
my 2nd gen ATV 4k has become quite laggy recently, not the actual playback but when switching between apps. So while 26 is supported on it, not sure I want to update in the fall ...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MagicBoy Avatar
MagicBoy
10 months ago

I don't really care about the new interface
Half the third-party apps likely won't support it anyway. Netflix, YouTube and Prime mostly ignore the Apple GUI standards in favour of a godawful experience with poor performance.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aespana Avatar
aespana
10 months ago

Of course I'm the complete fool who recently furnished their home with 1st gen Apple TV 4K units in all rooms, after finally getting rid of the laggy HD models. The speed boost here felt like going from hard drive to solid state drive.

They spent half the keynote talking about the liquid glass design to get me all hyped, and now I learn I'm getting a passive-aggressive design indicator to upgrade to a newer model, lest I'll be stuck with the old hat UI.

I feel attacked!
We bought an Apple TV 4K first gen like 3-4 years ago, second hand, even without control (Apple TV 3rd gen control worked fine) and it was and it is actually, one of the best gadget we have

It just works. You click the control, it turns on the TV and boom, clean interface, smooth performance, good image quality, etc. It will get tv26 at least, I don't really care about the new interface
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
Mactech20
10 months ago
So only the glass UI isn't available on the older Apple TVs?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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