Apple Sunset

Apple TV 4K 1st Generation

Discontinued 20 Apr 2021

Latest release

12 Sept 2017

Discontinued

20 Apr 2021

Lifespan

3 years, 7 months

Starting price

$179

Category
Apple TV
Status
Discontinued
Apple support status
Vintage (limited repairs, subject to parts)
Release type
Refresh of an existing model
Previous model
Apple TV (HD) 4th Generation
Replaced by
Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation
Official Apple page
apple.com ↗
More information
Apple TV 4K 1st Generation (Wiki) ↗

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Notes

This was the first Apple TV able to play actual 4K video, alongside support for both major HDR standards, Dolby Vision and HDR10, rather than picking just one. It launched at $179 for 32GB or $199 for 64GB, a $30 jump over the previous HD-only model. Anyone who'd already bought a film on iTunes in HD got it automatically upgraded to the new 4K HDR version at no extra cost, and 4K pricing on new purchases stayed the same as standard HD had been.

Powering the Apple TV 4K first generation was Apple's A10X Fusion chip, borrowed from that year's iPad Pro, a substantial step up in performance over the 4th generation box it replaced. The outward design and remote were carried over largely unchanged, but the connections behind it improved too, gaining Gigabit Ethernet and a faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard for streaming heavier 4K content more reliably.

On the software side, Apple's TV app (which pulled together content from different streaming apps into one place) expanded to several new countries at the same time, and Siri gained the ability to answer questions specifically about 4K or HDR titles. One notable feature came later rather than at launch: Dolby Atmos surround sound support wasn't added until a software update the following year.

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 3rd Generation Discontinued 30 Oct 2015 Apple TV 4K 2nd Generation Discontinued 18 Oct 2022

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