If your Apple TV does n’t look like this , it ’s likely time for a new one . Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
Anyone who ’s been around tech in a corporate setting has a story of some ancient while of hardware . Origin unknown . Functionality maybe dubious . But do n’t you defy ever disconnect it .
That ’s a stark line from consumer - grade equipment . The things we bribe for our home base wo n’t last forever . Nor should they be carry to . As for how far in the future that unsung expiration date should be ? I ’d suggest it should be proportional to price . The more you pay , the longer it should last .
If your Apple TV doesn’t look like this, it’s probably time for a new one.Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
But that ’s also why when news drop thatNetflix would no longer workon the second- and third - contemporaries Apple television computer hardware , I was n’t surprised in the thin . Actually , that ’s not quite true . I was a little surprised that Netflix still worked on those devices at all .
We ’re now three generations into theApple TV 4Kera , which started in 2017 . The original first - generation Apple TV ( which actually was announced as “ iTV ” ) seem a decade before that . The second- and third - gen ironware launch in 2010 and 2012 , severally , and Apple itself has n’t fend for the 2nd - gen box since September 2014 .
In other words , Netflix is no longer supporting computer hardware that it should be under no duty to support , even if it still fits your needs at dwelling house .
Yes , that ’s a shame . It ’s plaguy , thwarting , and likely will cost you some money . But there ’s nothing in your home that will last forever . Roofs need to be substitute every 20 years or so . Dishwashers eventually will break away down . strain conditioner are among the least aphrodisiacal things you could spend money on . ( If you ’ve ever had to replace one , you make love what that drop down feel is like . And do n’t get me started on pool pumps . )
I have only so much sympathy for an Apple TV box seat , even one that still works . But peculiarly one that retailed for just $ 99 in the previous tenner . Those are devices that at this item can be amortized out to less than a$10 a year for the computer hardware .
And all of those point make out before you get anywhere close to talking about the newfangled tech inside a current Apple TV box . ( Or any other streaming machine of the same ilk . ) Many time more onboard storage . Far more powerful processors . HDR and 4 K resolving . A better removed control .
I do n’t think it ’s necessary to refresh your hardware with every new generation . If you have the money and that ’s your thing , great . If there ’s some newfangled feature you just have to have , awesome . Go for it . But just as you ’re not obligated to bribe every new thing , neither should the manufacturers and computer software developers be need to keep going every legacy twist . Yes , there call for to be some kind of naturalistic support window . And that window may well shift a little — or features may have to be get out out — as hardware requirements transfer . That ’s just the way it is with technical school .
At some point my 2019 MacBook Pro will need to be replaced . It might well not do whatever newfangled AI Apple arrange in the next variant of MacOS . I finally supercede my iPhone 11 Pro with an iPhone 15 Pro last year , and I carry this one to last me three or more year , too . But I do n’t expect Apple to support them always . Nor do I expect app developers to do so .
So if you ’re still using a more - than - decade - honest-to-god Apple TV box and rely on it for Netflix , it ’s time to grit your tooth and raise . Yes , you ’ll have to spend a shade more than you did back when Barack Obama was president . And no , I have no musical theme if the current - example Apple TV will last as long . But I do know that it ’s a good product . By the way , we also have no idea when the next Apple TV will occur out . ( Though we do have some mentation about whatwe’d wish to see in it . )
But one thing I do know ? Netflix will work on it .
