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1st generation
Apple TV was unveiled as a work in progress called "iTV" on September 12, 2006 at an Apple Special Event using a modified Front Row interface using the Apple Remote. Apple started taking pre-orders for Apple TV on January 9, 2007.
2nd generation
The 2nd generation Apple TV was announced on September 1, 2010, and was the first to run on a variant of iOS. The device is housed in a smaller, all-black case, one-quarter the size of the original. This model replaced the internal hard drive with 8 GB internal flash storage, enough local storage for buffering purposes; all media became streamed, instead of synced. It supports output up to 720p over HDMI only.
3rd generation
On March 7, 2012 Apple announced the 3rd generation Apple TV (model A1427) at an Apple Special Event. It is identical externally to the second generation model, includes a single-core A5 processor, and supports 1080p output.
Apple silently released a third generation "Rev A" (model A1469) on January 28, 2013 with component changes included. This refreshed model gained support for peer to peer Airplay which allowed iOS devices to mirror to the Apple TV without requiring both devices to be on the same WiFi network. This model also saw the dual core Apple A5 chip with one core deactivated being replaced with a single core variant of the A5 chip.
4th generation (HD)
On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the 4th generation Apple TV at an Apple Special Event. The 4th generation model uses a new operating system, tvOS, with an app store, allowing downloads of third-party apps for video, audio, games and other content. Upon release, third-party apps were available from a limited range of providers, with new APIs providing opportunities for more apps. A requirement of new apps and games was that they must include interfacing with the new touchpad-enabled Siri remote, which was later relaxed for games. In March 2019 Apple rebranded the device as Apple TV HD.
5th generation (4K)
At an Apple Special Event on September 12, 2017, Apple announced the 5th generation Apple TV, named Apple TV 4K, which supports 2160p output, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and includes a faster Apple A10X Fusion processor supporting HEVC hardware decoding. Dolby Atmos support was added in tvOS 12. It does not support 4K video for applications that use VP9 such as YouTube. Following the announcement of the new models, the 64 GB version of the 4th generation Apple TV was discontinued.
Apple TV was unveiled as a work in progress called "iTV" on September 12, 2006 at an Apple Special Event using a modified Front Row interface using the Apple Remote. Apple started taking pre-orders for Apple TV on January 9, 2007.
The 2nd generation Apple TV was announced on September 1, 2010, and was the first to run on a variant of iOS. The device is housed in a smaller, all-black case, one-quarter the size of the original. This model replaced the internal hard drive with 8 GB internal flash storage, enough local storage for buffering purposes; all media became streamed, instead of synced. It supports output up to 720p over HDMI only.
On March 7, 2012 Apple announced the 3rd generation Apple TV (model A1427) at an Apple Special Event. It is identical externally to the second generation model, includes a single-core A5 processor, and supports 1080p output.
Apple silently released a third generation "Rev A" (model A1469) on January 28, 2013 with component changes included. This refreshed model gained support for peer to peer Airplay which allowed iOS devices to mirror to the Apple TV without requiring both devices to be on the same WiFi network. This model also saw the dual core Apple A5 chip with one core deactivated being replaced with a single core variant of the A5 chip.
4th generation (HD)
On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the 4th generation Apple TV at an Apple Special Event. The 4th generation model uses a new operating system, tvOS, with an app store, allowing downloads of third-party apps for video, audio, games and other content. Upon release, third-party apps were available from a limited range of providers, with new APIs providing opportunities for more apps. A requirement of new apps and games was that they must include interfacing with the new touchpad-enabled Siri remote, which was later relaxed for games. In March 2019 Apple rebranded the device as Apple TV HD.
5th generation (4K)
At an Apple Special Event on September 12, 2017, Apple announced the 5th generation Apple TV, named Apple TV 4K, which supports 2160p output, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and includes a faster Apple A10X Fusion processor supporting HEVC hardware decoding. Dolby Atmos support was added in tvOS 12. It does not support 4K video for applications that use VP9 such as YouTube. Following the announcement of the new models, the 64 GB version of the 4th generation Apple TV was discontinued.
