As of April 20th, Google discontinued to support YouTube on older iOS devices and Apple TVs. The reason behind is that the YouTube Data API was updated with new features.
Which Devices Do Not Support the YouTube App?
Devices running on iOS 7 (iPhones, iPads and iPods) or later are safe. The oldest one that will be able to open the YouTube app is the iPhone 4, but with the iOS 7 installed. In other words, if you have a device manufactured in 2012, you don’t have to change it with a more recent one. All you have to do is upgrade the software in order to be able to access YouTube via Google again.
If you don’t upgrade the software, however, you will not be able to access the YouTube app on your mobile devices via Google any longer. Instead, you will need to visit the m.youtube.com through other browsers.
It seems that Apple TVs 2nd generation are affected the most. They will not open the YouTube app at all, unfortunately, as there is no way to upgrade these devices’ software.
Other devices that are affected are Sony TVs and Blu-ray Discs, Panasonic TVs and such that are running older versions of Google TV.
Why Does Google Discontinue the YouTube App on older iOS Devices?
The reason to stop supporting the YouTube app on older devices is simple – to upgrade the YouTube API. According to Google, “As we upgrade the YouTube Data API to bring more features, we’ll begin shutting down the old version on April 20, 2015. This will result in the current YouTube app not working on certain device models from 2012 and older.”
In order to see whether and how you can continue using YouTube app on your device, check out the Google’s support page.