Apple will be unveiling its OS updates at its Worldwide Developers Conference starting on Monday, June 9. We expect tvOS to be part of the announcements, and according to a report spotted by MacRumors, there’s a pretty good chance your Apple TV device will be able to use the new tvOS 26.
A private account on X with a solid track record reports that tvOS 26 will work on the following Apple TVs:
- Apple TV HD (2015)
- Apple TV 4K (1st generation, 2017)
- Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021)
- Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022)
The same three Apple TV models will not be compatible with tvOS 26: the 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-gen Apple TV. These devices lost support in 2020 when Apple switched to tvOS.
The current version of tvOS is 18. Reports state that as part of its efforts to unify its operating systems, Apple will be using version numbers that refer to the year, similar to how car manufacturers identify releases. Along with tvOS, the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS will all be 26. Apple also plans to change its user interface design language so that it is more uniform across all platforms.
WWDC25 starts on June 9, with a keynote address at 10 a.m. PT. Learn more about WWDC25.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.