YouTube won’t work for certain older devices anymore

Whether it be wear and tear or just outdated hardware, you’re going to have to replace your old electronics eventually. If your still on the ropes about replacing something that works just fine, Google may have just made the decision a bit easier with the announcement that any special-made YouTube apps on a select number of older devices will no longer work due a change in the apps API.

Like burning down a forest to make sweet nutrients for new growth, YouTube is winding down its service to myriad older devices today. All in the name of progress, of course. In a notice, spotted by MacRumors, YouTube notes that “select” devices that were made in 2012 (or earlier) will find that any special-made YouTube apps will no longer work. That’s thanks to a change in YouTube’s Data API, which Google says opens it up to features like comments, captions, RSS push notifications, and flagging videos. So far, the list of devices that the update puts out to pasture includes older TVs and Blu-ray disc players from Sony and Panasonic, Google TV devices running version 3 or 4, game consoles without support for Adobe Flash or HTML5, along with iOS devices running anything less than iOS 7. The update also impacts the second-generation Apple TV, requiring users to start videos on their iPhones, iPods, and iPads then stream them using AirPlay.