Apple Sunset

Apple TV 3rd Generation

Discontinued 30 Oct 2015

Latest release

7 Mar 2012

Discontinued

30 Oct 2015

Lifespan

3 years, 7 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 2nd Generation
Replaced by
Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation
Official Apple page
apple.com ↗
More information
Apple TV 3rd Generation (Wiki) ↗

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Notes

This third generation Apple TV looked identical to the 2010 model on the outside, same small black box, same $99 price, but got a solid upgrade inside. The main change was a new A5 chip (the same family used in the iPad 2), finally powerful enough to push out full 1080p video, up from 720p on the previous model. It also picked up a second Wi-Fi antenna for a steadier connection when streaming HD content.

The software got a refresh to match. The old text-based menus were replaced with a simpler grid of large icons for each type of content, and a few things that used to be buried in submenus, like WSJ Live, NBA, NHL, Vimeo and Podcasts, moved straight onto the home screen. A new Genius feature started suggesting movies based on what you'd already watched, and photos from Photo Stream now appeared automatically without needing to be set up manually.

Beyond what shipped on day one, this model kept gaining new content apps throughout its several years on sale, Vevo, Disney Channel, HBO Go, Sky News and WatchESPN among them, added gradually through free software updates rather than all at launch. Renting or buying through iTunes, and streaming from Netflix, YouTube and Flickr, all carried over from the previous model unchanged.

Release history

  1. 2022

  2. 18 Oct 2022

    Apple TV 4K 3rd Generation Current

    Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation Discontinued

  3. ↑ 1 year, 5 months later
  4. 2021

  5. 20 Apr 2021

    Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation

    Apple TV 4K 1st Generation Discontinued

  6. ↑ 3 years, 7 months later
  7. 2017

  8. 12 Sept 2017

    Apple TV 4K 1st Generation

    Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation Discontinued

  9. ↑ 1 year, 10 months later
  10. 2015

  11. 30 Oct 2015

    Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation

    Apple TV 3rd Generation Discontinued

  12. ↑ 3 years, 7 months later
  13. 2012

  14. 7 Mar 2012

    Apple TV 3rd Generation

    Apple TV 2nd Generation Discontinued

  15. ↑ 1 year, 5 months later
  16. 2010

  17. 30 Sept 2010

    Apple TV 2nd Generation

    Apple TV 1st Generation Discontinued

  18. ↑ 3 years, 6 months later
  19. 2007

  20. 21 Mar 2007

    Apple TV 1st Generation Launch

More in Apple TV

Apple TV 4K 3rd Generation 1435 days since refresh Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation Discontinued 12 Sept 2017 Apple TV 1st Generation Discontinued 30 Sept 2010 Apple TV 2nd Generation Discontinued 7 Mar 2012 Apple TV 4K 1st Generation Discontinued 20 Apr 2021 Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation Discontinued 18 Oct 2022

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