Apple TV is a set-top box for streaming video and games. Apple announced the first-generation device in September 2006 under the name “iTV.” However, the name changed to Apple TV before the device’s launch in March 2007.
Since then, Apple has continued to update the streaming box, adding new features and reducing the device’s size.
The first-gen Apple TV measured 7.7 inches by 7.7 inches by 1.1 inches and ran on an Intel Pentium M processor. It retailed for $299.
Apple released the second-gen Apple TV in September 2010. Powered by an Apple A4 chip and just a quarter the size of the original model, it ran a modified version of iOS. It retailed for $99.
The third-gen Apple TV, released in 2012, looked the same as its predecessor but sported an Apple A4 ship. It also added HomeKit support so it could work as a smart home hub, but retained the $99 price tag.
Apple released the fourth-generation model, called Apple TV HD, in October 2015. It ran on a new operating system, tvOS, with an App Store for downloading third-party apps. Powered by a 64-bit Apple A8 chip, it and added support for Dolby Digital Plus audio. Slightly taller than the second- and third-gen models, it came with a redesigned Siri Remote with a touch surface that registered both taps and swipes. It started at $149.
The Apple TV 4K arrived in September 2017. Powered by an Apple A10X chip, it supported 2160p output, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HEVC hardware decoding. Pricing started at $179.
The second-gen Apple TV 4K arrived in April 2021. With an Apple A12 Bionic chip inside, it supported high-frame-rate HDR, HDMI 2.1 and Wi-Fi 6. It came with a larger, completely redesigned Siri Remote featuring a scroll wheel with navigational buttons. It also added a Thread radio.
Apple released the third-gen Apple TV 4K in October 2022. Powered by an Apple A15 Bionic chip with a five-core CPU and a five-core GPU, it brought support for HDR10+. The set-top box is smaller and lighter than its predecessor. A Wi-Fi-only model ($129) comes with 64GB of storage. The more expensive 128GB model ($149) adds Ethernet and a Thread radio.
iPhone and Mac get all the attention — and the annual upgrades — but you can expect a trio of Apple products that haven’t been improved in years to get some love from Cupertino in 2025.
Fans of some of Apple’s secondary devices rejoice: Rumors point to new versions of Apple TV, AirTag and HomePod in the coming months.
Apple’s significant expansion of its smart home lineup in 2025 should include new HomePod and HomePod mini models. The company plans to introduce both a display-equipped HomePod and a refreshed HomePod mini amid a renewed focus on the smart home market.
As usual, you can expect Apple to emphasize quality audio as well as airtight security. Here’s what to expect from HomePod and HomePod mini in 2025.
December 27, 2010: Almost four months after the second-gen Apple TV’s debut, Cupertino says it has sold 1 million of the streaming video devices.
The news shows that Apple’s set-top box is gaining momentum. However, Apple’s PR move — which included a preemptive press release issued on December 21 that said Apple “expects sales of its new Apple TV to top one million units later this week” — is also a low-blow shot at competitor Roku, which recently said it planned to hit the 1 million unit mark by the end of 2010.
Apple will switch to its in-house “Proxima” WI-Fi and Bluetooth chip on its devices starting next year. The chip will debut on the Apple TV and HomePod mini next year.
By 2026, Apple will bring its in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module to the iPad and Mac.
For many Apple TV owners, there’s still one kink to be worked out: the remote. The Siri Remote is all about being skinny and putting Apple’s AI assistant front and center. But some people prefer an alternative Apple TV remote with lots of buttons, like the recently upgraded Button Remote from Function101 (see our hands-on review).
Upgraded with Bluetooth connectivity in addition to infrared, it works with Apple TVs and more than a hundred other television brands. And you can get one for only $24.97. That’s just two-thirds the price of a replacement sixth-gen Siri Remote from Apple.
iOS 18.2 will make searching on Apple Music and Apple TV much easier with natural language support. This means you can use natural language to describe and search for TV shows or music you are looking for.
The revamped Photos app gained support for similar search capabilities with the iOS 18.1 update.
The culmination of a Major League Soccer postseason filled with upsets and comebacks, the MLS Cup championship unfolds Saturday as LA Galaxy hosts the New York Red Bulls. And you can watch the MLS Cup final for free on various Apple TV platforms via MLS Season Pass, the streamer said Thursday.
There are plenty of great Apple deals this Cyber Monday 2024—but not from Apple directly. As usual, Apple keeps its discounts minimal (Tim Cook loves his big fat profits!). This year, you can get up to a $200 gift card with select purchases, but the newest products, like the iPhone 16, M4 MacBook Pros, iMac, and Apple Watch Ultra 2, aren’t included.
That said, third-party retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and B&H Photo are offering significant discounts on a ton of Apple gear. From AirPods to iPhones, Apple Watches, and iPads, you’ll find some fantastic deals. Here’s a roundup of the best offers we’ve come across.
Apple is reportedly considering making a television set, but don’t get your hopes up. There are simply too many reasons why Apple won’t make a TV. Like so many things, it all comes down to profits (and the lack thereof).
You need look no further than Apple’s set-top box and monitors to see why an Apple-branded television isn’t going to happen.
Soccer superstar Lionel Messi will take the field in his first MLS Cup playoff match on Friday, and it’ll be available free for anyone to watch via the Apple TV app.
He’ll lead Inter Miami CF against Atlanta United FC.
You can set up your Apple TV to control volume on a separate sound system, like a sound bar. It may not work out of the box, but poking around in Settings, you can use the convenient volume buttons built into the Siri Remote.
If you have a separate sound system or an older television, the volume buttons on your Apple TV remote may not work directly. You don’t have to keep two or three remotes sitting around — you can make it all work from just one. It just takes a little setup.
Apple released watchOS 10.6.1 and tvOS 17.6.1 on Monday, a pair of “bug fix” patches for Apple Watch and Apple TV that offer no new features.
New versions of iOS 17.6.1 and iPadOS 17.6.1 from two weeks ago went out at the same time, but don’t appear to be available for most models.
You can turn off those annoying Apple TV sports notifications to stop the constant interruptions while you’re watching your shows and movies. Considering I have no interest in sports, I never watched live sports on Apple TV, and I never agreed to be shown these notifications, every time they come up, I’m intensely irritated.
Apple did a fairly good job of hiding the setting that lets you turn off those irritating sports notifications. However, you can do it — if you know where to look. In this how-to, I’ll show you how to shut them down, along with some of the other Apple TV settings you should change while you’re at it. Keep reading or watch our video.
Whether it’s wedged between the cushions or kicked far under the couch, a handy-dandy feature in iOS 17 and tvOS 17 lets you find your lost Apple TV remote using your iPhone.
Sure, you can take the L and simply use your iPhone or Apple Watch to control your Apple TV. But I like having the physical remote on hand, too.
The mind races when one imagines how many hours of human life might have been saved if everyone had this feature 30 years ago. Let me show you how to find your AWOL Apple TV remote with your iPhone.
The Netflix streaming service will soon stop working on second- and third-generation Apple TV models. It’s not a shocking development as both are over a decade old.
If you’ve been looking for a reason to buy a newer tvOS device, it may have just arrived. (By coincidence, Verizon currently offers the Apple TV 4K for just $89.99.)
You can change the name of your Apple devices, whether you have an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, AirPods or Apple TV. By default, it’s just “[your name]’s iPhone.” But you can give your iPhone its own unique name, like Kit-Kat or Magic Rectangle.
Also by default, when you set up a new iPhone, the name is transferred. This can get confusing if you keep old phones around because you’ll see “John’s iPhone,” “John’s iPhone (2),” maybe even “John’s iPhone (3)” and more. The same is true for Apple Watch, Mac, iPad and AirPods.
The name of your device shows up among a bunch of Apple features like AirDrop, Find My, Personal Hotspot, AirPlay and more. If you use these features often, giving it a unique name will make it easier to identify.
Here’s how to fix this mess on all your Apple devices. Keep reading or watch our video.
Comparing the Apple TV vs. Roku vs. other smart TV products, there are a lot of good reasons to stick with Apple’s offering — even though it’s more expensive.
Roku is the more popular product, selling plug-in devices for as little as $30. And if you buy a new TV today, it’s probably running Roku or Google TV software. Although the latest Apple TV 4K is a pricey $129, it offers better privacy protection, it’s easily controlled with your iPhone and Apple Watch, makes FaceTime calls, plays better games and runs faster.
Check out our latest video or keep reading.
The just-launched Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Apple TV 4K makes it easy to hold FaceTime calls with Apple’s set-top box. It magnetically holds an iPhone so its cameras point toward the user.
Video-chat capability is built into Apple’s set-top box — the mount just makes it simpler.
Amazon bargain site Woot! is offering deep discounts, anywhere from 13% to 83% off, on dozens of Apple accessories and a few choice items like Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Pro — but only until Wednesday at 9:59 p.m. PT.
As of Tuesday morning, one item had sold out and 52 remained, including accessories for iPhone, Apple Watch, AirTag, AirPods and more. See some highlights below.
Major League Soccer’s 29th season kicks off February 21 on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, but fans can subscribe to the service starting Monday, Apple said.
International superstar Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami CF late last season, so 2024 will see his first full season with the club, and fans can also check out a variety of exclusive content.
New entertainment experiences launching with Apple Vision Pro on February 2 should be dazzling, as users can turn any space into a personal theater, enjoy more than 150 3D movies and experience “the future of entertainment” with Immersive Video, Apple said Tuesday.
“Apple Vision Pro is the ultimate entertainment device,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. “Users can turn any place into the best seat in the house, enjoy personal concerts and adventures with Apple Immersive Video, interact with lifelike prehistoric creatures in Encounter Dinosaurs, and even land on the surface of the moon using Environments. It’s unlike anything users have ever seen before and we can’t wait for them to experience it for themselves.”
From the “better late than never” category, a version of the Zoom video conferencing app has launched for Apple TV. This means it’s now easier to make Zoom calls using a TV’s large display.
Turns out the long wait was actually Apple’s fault.
Update: Black Friday might be over but the deals certainly are not. Many of the best deals on Apple products are still live and you can score some hefty discounts on them this shopping season. In fact, some of these deals disappeared for a while on Black Friday — like the iPad (9th gen) for just $229 (save $100) — then reappeared at some point!
For starters, don’t miss this killer deal on AirPods Pro 2 (with USB-C) for just $189 (save $60) — this is the best price we’ve seen on the best AirPods you can get. Plus, Apple Watch SE (2nd gen., 2022) is down to just $179 (save $70) — the SE is a great gift for someone this Xmas. Or, if you are shopping for yourself, the latest Apple Watch Series 9 is just $329 (save $70).
There are lots of great Apple deals to be had on Black Friday 2023 — just not from Apple itself. Apple is usually pretty stingy when it comes to Black Friday (Tim Cook loves his margins!). This year, you can get an Apple gift card worth up to $200 when you splash out on select products, but the latest and greatest — iPhone 15, M3 MacBook Pros, iMac, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 — are not included.
However, there are great savings on Apple products from third-party retailers like Best Buy, B&H Photo, Target and Walmart. All these stores offer significant discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPads, iPhones and more. Here are the best deals on Apple gear we’ve found.
Amazon bargain site Woot! launched an Apple accessories sale with something for almost everyone — and deals as good as 90% off certain iPhone cases and 61% off an Apple Thunderbolt 3 Pro cable.
But with 49 products on sale, that’s just a taste. Act fast, the sale ends November 10 at 9:59 p.m. PT.
Apple hopes to grab a bigger slice of the streaming pie through a redesign of its TV app late this year that will help consolidate the company’s video offerings, a new report said Tuesday.