Apple TV Software

Apple TV Software was a series of operating systems developed by Apple for their early Apple TV consoles. On October 29, 2015, it was superseded by tvOS.

Version 1
Apple TV Software 1.0 was based on Mac OS X 10.4.7 "Tiger" and released on January 9, 2007 with the 1st-generation Apple TV, which ran on a processor. A computer running a supported version of iTunes was required to sync content to the device.

Version 2
Apple TV Software 2.0 was released on January 15, 2008 and once installed, allowed the 1st generation device to receive downloads directly, effectively untethering it from a computer. Apple TV Software 2.1 was released in July 2008 and allows supported iPhone and iPod touch models to be used as remote control devices through a Remote app. It also added support for MobileMe.

Version 3
Apple TV Software 3.0 was the last major release to be based on Mac OS X. A issue with disappearing content was addressed in an update to version 3.0.1 in November 2009. Version 3.0.2 was the final update to be released in February 2010.

Version 4
Apple TV Software 4.0 was released on September 1, 2010 with the 2nd-generation Apple TV. It the first version to be based on iOS, specifically iOS 4.1.

Version 5
Apple TV Software 5.0 was released in March 7, 2012 with the 3rd-generation Apple TV. Based on iOS 5.1, it featured a new user interface.

Version 6
Apple TV Software 6.2.1, based on iOS 7.1.2, was the last version to support the 2nd-generation Apple TV.

Version 7
Apple TV Software 7.6.2, based on iOS 8.4.6, was the last version to support the 3rd-generation Apple TV.

Release history

 * (there is no Apple TV Software 8.0)

Deprecation
Though still derived from iOS, the software was formally rebranded as tvOS in 2015, starting with tvOS 9, which was based on iOS 9.