How Long Will Newer Apple TV Devices Receive Software Support?
Apple TV devices have a good reputation, thanks to their snappy performance, clean interface, and solid privacy practices in a world where most smart TV platforms spy on you. The company also keeps them updated for years, ensuring Apple TV owners get new features and a trouble-free experience. Although Apple doesn't explicitly share a software support period for Apple TV devices, its recent track record indicates nine to ten years of tvOS updates.
Although the brand offered only three and four years of software updates for the first- and second-generation Apple TV models, respectively, Apple has significantly increased the software support period for Apple TV devices launched since the 2012 model, which is also referred to as Apple TV (3rd Generation). The 2012 model received software updates for nearly ten years, whereas the 2015 Apple TV HD and the first-generation Apple TV 4K, which came out in 2017, got their last software update in 2026.
Which Apple TV models are still receiving software updates
Apple is currently supporting only two Apple TV models: the 2nd and 3rd generations of the Apple TV 4K, both of which received the tvOS 27 update in September 2026. While the second-generation model was launched in 2021, the third-generation model came in 2022. The company hasn't released a newer model since then. If the support period for the last few generations of Apple TV models is any indication, the newer Apple TV 4K models are expected to see updates until around 2030-2031, if not longer. However, exactly which features reach these models in future updates will depend on their hardware, particularly as the company focuses on Apple Intelligence, which can't run on older chips.
Still, if you're in the market for a streaming media player and are considering the Apple TV 4K (2022), the device won't become obsolete anytime soon. But if you want software updates for a decade or so, you might want to wait for the next-generation Apple TV model, which is expected to launch in October at the company's Welcome Home event. Similarly, if you already own the 2021 or 2022 model, there is no rush to upgrade or switch to a different media streamer if you are enjoying your Apple TV device.
It's important to remember that even after Apple stops releasing new tvOS updates for your hardware, it won't become unusable. You can keep using it as long as you want, probably until it becomes sluggish, a chore to operate, or until your favorite streaming apps stop supporting it.