Soon, YouTube will require AirPlay to play video in older Apple TV streaming boxes. This means that users will need to start playing the video on another device, such as an iPhone or iPad, to view the content on Apple TV.
The change does not affect the two Apple TV boxes currently sold today. Apple TV HD (fourth generation) and Apple TV 4K (fifth generation), the two models that run tvOS and have an integrated App Store, will continue to have compatible YouTube apps. Instead, the AirPlay requirement for playback is coming to Apple TV’s third generation streaming boxes, which were first introduced in 2012.
Reader Niels O’Man shared the message being displayed before watching YouTube videos on Apple TV’s third generation today:
As of 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).
Apple has long supported development for the two most recent hardware versions of Apple TV, which run a complete iOS-based operating system. Older Apple TVs depended on special agreements between Apple and video vendors to support applications.
Smart TVs sold in recent years offer other ways to view YouTube on the big screen with integrated apps, integrated AirPlay and Chromecast, and more affordable streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV, which also works with the video + TV streaming service from Apple.
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