'Apple TV HD' is the new name for 4th-generation 1080p Apple TV

Perhaps to avoid confusion with its multiplying TV services, Apple is renaming the base-level fourth-generation 1080p Apple TV to the "Apple TV HD."

Pricing and features for the set-top are otherwise unchanged. A single 32-gigabyte model is available for $149, coming equipped with a Siri Remote, an A8 processor and support for standards like HDMI 1.4 and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 sound.

The product is $30 less than the Apple TV 4K, which offers not just 4K resolution but an A10X chip, HDMI 2.0a, Dolby Atmos sound and two HDR (high dynamic range) video standards: HDR10 and Dolby Vision. A 64-gigabyte model runs $199.

The name change was made without fanfare on the heels of several related announcements, namely an overhauled TV app, Apple TV Channels and Apple TV+, a future home for original shows and movies. Having a device simply named the "Apple TV" could create unnecessary mixups.

The HD should get the new TV app and TV+, since both it and the Apple TV 4K rely on tvOS. Apple has so far kept the older TV box current with updates pushed out to its top-of-the-line streamer.

25 Comments

davidmalcolm 9 Years · 404 comments

About 5 years ago

Part of me really wishes Apple would be focused including the best graphics in these boxes as the better the GPU when somebody buys it the better the games they can run with Apple Arcade.

SpamSandwich 19 Years · 32917 comments

Still wish they made a model for OTA video recording.

entropys 13 Years · 4316 comments

Still at $149? What a joke. How can anyone recommend this to anyone else?
Old hardware rebranded. It’s insulting. Tim Cook talks the talk, but I suspect he doesn’t think much of Apple users.

One would hope the 4K version, which obviously won’t be getting an upgrade or better pricing either in the near future, comes with some serious investment in controllers to go with the Apple Arcade subscription.

jkichline 14 Years · 1369 comments

entropys said:

Still at $149? What a joke. How can anyone recommend this to anyone else?
Old hardware rebranded. It’s insulting. Tim Cook talks the talk, but I suspect he doesn’t think much of Apple users.

One would hope the 4K version, which obviously won’t be getting an upgrade or better pricing either in the near future, comes with some serious investment in controllers to go with the Apple Arcade subscription.

Not much joy in your life, what with needing the latest and greatest everything at half the cost, huh?

AppleTV is practically sold at cost now as it is. Not sure what you’re looking for here. Probably by the time these games are available in the fall, you’ll see new hardware. Until then, they work great.

hmurchison 23 Years · 11824 comments

entropys said:

Still at $149? What a joke. How can anyone recommend this to anyone else?
Old hardware rebranded. It’s insulting. Tim Cook talks the talk, but I suspect he doesn’t think much of Apple users.

One would hope the 4K version, which obviously won’t be getting an upgrade or better pricing either in the near future, comes with some serious investment in controllers to go with the Apple Arcade subscription.

Yup. People won't even buy $99 4K Blu-ray players to go along with their new shiny premium UHD TV. A 1080 Apple TV for 149.99 looks silly next to a Roku $39.99 4K HDR streamer.