- This article is about Apple TV hardware. For other products, see Apple TV (disambiguation).
The Apple TV, stylized as tv, is a digital media receiver developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small form factor network appliance designed to play IPTV digital content originating from the iTunes Store, Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, MobileMe, MLB.tv, NBA League Pass or any Mac OS X or Windows computer running iTunes onto an enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen television.
Contents
History
Apple offered a preview of the device in September 2006 and began shipping it the following March. It initially shipped with a 40 GB hard disk; a 160 GB version was introduced two months later and the earlier model was ultimately discontinued.
2nd generation
In September 2010, Apple announced a second-generation version of the Apple TV. About one quarter of the size and one third of the price of the original Apple TV, the new device can stream rented content from iTunes and video from computers or iOS devices via AirPlay. The second and third generation Apple TVs lost the hard drive; however, they did have an undocumented internal 8 GB flash storage, speculated to be used for smoother playback of streamed media. All content is drawn from online or locally connected sources.
At a media event on September 9, 2015, Apple introduced the 4th generation Apple TV. This new model introduced a brand new operating system based on iOS known as tvOS, a new remote featuring Siri, and a brand new App Store. The new Apple TV costs $149 for the 32GB model, and $199 for the 64GB model.
Models
1st generation
This generation has both HDMI and component video out, unlike all other generations.
| Picture | CPU | Video resolution | Memory | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Intel Pentium M | 720p, 576p, 480p, (1080p with v.3 software update) |
256 MB | January 8, 2007 |
2nd generation
This model dropped the analog video ports so it can be smaller. It is one quarter of the size of the previous generation.
| Picture | CPU | Video resolution | Memory | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Apple A4 | 720p, 576p, 480p | 256 MB | September 1, 2010 |
3rd generation
This generation has the same external design as the previous generation. It supports 1080p video content.
| Picture | CPU | Video resolution | Memory | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Apple A5 | 1080p, 720p, 576p, 480p | 512 MB | March 7, 2012 |
4th generation
The 4th generation model, retroactively called the Apple TV HD, was announced on September 9th, 2015. It introduced tvOS and the Siri Remote, as well as a design that is slightly taller than the previous generations. It supports downloadable apps, such as games.
| Picture | CPU | Video resolution | Memory | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Apple A8 | 1080p, 720p, 576p, 480p | 2 GB | October 30, 2015 |
5th generation
The 5th generation model, marketed as the Apple TV 4K, received a faster Apple A10X processor, along with 4K video capability.
| Picture | CPU | Video resolution | Memory | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Apple A10X | 2160p (4K), 1080p, 720p, 576p, 480p |
3 GB | September 12, 2017 |
