Your Apple TV only has one of its apps, as Facebook Watch – a version of the social media platform dedicated to TV, videos and live streams – is no longer compatible with tvOS.
As first seen by 9to5Mac (opens in new tab)When Apple TV 4K users try to access Facebook Watch, they will get a message saying, “Facebook Watch TV app is no longer available, but you can still find lots of Facebook videos at www.facebook.com/watch”.
Interestingly, the app is still available for download from the tvOS App Store. Also, at the time of writing, “Apple TV (4th generation or newer)” is still listed in the Facebook Watch TV app official list of supported devices (opens in new tab).
Because of this, it’s unclear if Meta has decided to ditch the Apple TV for good, or if this is just a bug that causes the error message to appear.
While Facebook Watch isn’t thought of in the same way as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, it’s still a popular streaming service. When he last shared details about its popularity, Meta said that around 1.25 billion users are using Facebook Watch each month.
We contacted Meta and Apple and an Apple representative got back to us and explained that only Meta will know why the app is unavailable. Fortunately, the social media tech giant can explain when Apple TV users will be able to tune in to Facebook Watch again.
If Meta ditched Apple TV, we can’t blame him, as Apple hasn’t given the platform much love either.
The latest Apple TV device – the Apple TV 4K – was recently released in 2021, but at this year’s WWDC 2022 keynote, tvOS was absent from the main stage. A new tvOS16 beta would materialize, but you’d have to actively search for it on Apple’s website to find it.
It’s a shame because Apple TV is a very good streaming device. Sure, it’s a little pricey, but the image quality it offers is great and the updates coming in tvOS 16 look amazing. There will finally be support for HDR10+ and new integrations with watchOS 9, iOS 16 and iPad OS 16 will help bring updates to your workouts and introduce new second-screen enhancements to what you watch.
But if Apple isn’t going to care enough to celebrate the features of its own platform, why should third-party developers care too?
Fortunately, other Apple TV services won’t follow Facebook’s lead and leave the platform, but we won’t be surprised when they do based on how things are going.
If you’re thinking about buying an Apple TV, you might want to reconsider and make a deal on a streaming stick like the Roku. And if you already have one, make sure you use it to the fullest while you still can.