Apple TV 2nd Generation
Discontinued 7 Mar 2012
Latest release
30 Sept 2010
Discontinued
7 Mar 2012
Lifespan
1 year, 5 months
Starting price
$99
- Category
- Apple TV
- Status
- Discontinued
- Apple support status
- Obsolete (Apple no longer services it)
- Release type
- Refresh of an existing model
- Previous model
- Apple TV 1st Generation
- Replaced by
- Apple TV 3rd Generation
- Official Apple page
- apple.com ↗
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Notes
The second generation Apple TV was a complete rethink of the original Apple TV.
Instead of a boxy set-top unit with a spinning hard drive, it shrank down to a small black square about a quarter the size of its predecessor, with no disk drive at all. In its place was just enough flash storage to buffer what was playing, since almost everything now streamed live rather than being downloaded and stored first.
The price dropped sharply too, from $229 for the outgoing model to $99 for this one.
It ran a version of the same software found on the iPhone and iPad at the time, though it couldn't run apps from the App Store itself. You could rent movies and TV shows through iTunes (buying to own wasn't an option on this model), and it came with built-in support for Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and Apple's MobileMe service.
Video played back at up to 720p, there was no support for full 1080p. Shortly after launch, a free software update added AirPlay, letting you beam photos, video and music straight from an iPhone, iPad or Mac onto the TV screen, something that became one of the device's most popular features. It could still be controlled with the included remote, or with Apple's free Remote app on an iPhone or iPad.
It sold well out of the gate too, reportedly 250,000 units in its first two weeks on sale.
Release history
- 2022
-
18 Oct 2022
Apple TV 4K 3rd Generation
Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation
- ↑ 1 year, 5 months later
- 2021
-
20 Apr 2021
Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation
Apple TV 4K 1st Generation
- ↑ 3 years, 7 months later
- 2017
-
12 Sept 2017
Apple TV 4K 1st Generation
Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation
- ↑ 1 year, 10 months later
- 2015
-
30 Oct 2015
Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation
Apple TV 3rd Generation
- ↑ 3 years, 7 months later
- 2012
-
7 Mar 2012
Apple TV 3rd Generation
Apple TV 2nd Generation
- ↑ 1 year, 5 months later
- 2010
-
30 Sept 2010
Apple TV 2nd Generation
Apple TV 1st Generation
- ↑ 3 years, 6 months later
- 2007
-
21 Mar 2007
Apple TV 1st Generation