The original Apple TV was released a little over 11 years ago. And if you’re still hanging onto one, it’s about to get a lot less useful.
Apple has announced that the iTunes Store will no longer work with 1st-gen Apple TV devices starting May 25th. The company is also pulling the plug on iTunes for computers running Windows XP or Vista on the same date.
The company calls this a security update, but it’s hardly surprising that the company is choosing not to support an 11-year-old device which Apple calls “obsolete.” I doubt there are still many people still using one.
As for Windows XP and Vista? That may be another story.
Vista was never a particularly popular version of Windows, but even though Windows XP is an even older operating system, NetMarketShare says as recently as 2017 it was installed on more than 7 percent of personal computers.
Sure, the last major update for Windows XP was released about a decade ago, and Microsoft has ended official support for the platform. But if that hasn’t been enough to get some people to switch to a newer OS, I’m not really sure what it’ll take (short of a BSOD).
Anyway, Apple says Windows XP and Vista users who want to keep using iTunes after May 25th will still be able to run the application. But they won’t be able to make new purchases or re-download previously purchased items. They’ll need to use a PC running Windows 7 or newer to do that.