Following the debut of the first Apple TV 4K model back in 2017, Apple continued to offer the fourth-generation Apple TV in its lineup, with the device becoming known as the Apple TV HD. However, following Tuesday’s unveiling of the new Apple TV 4K models, Apple has dropped the Apple TV HD from its lineup and it is no longer available in the Cupertino firm’s official store. (First noticed by 9to5Mac)
The fourth-generation Apple TV, announced in 2015, was the first Apple TV model to run tvOS making it the first to bring the App Store with third-party apps to Apple TV. The device was powered by the A8 chip and boasted 2GB of RAM.
The fourth-generation Apple TV was also the first model to offer a Siri Remote. The fourth-gen Apple TV model was launched at $149 for the 32GB version.
The new 2022 Apple TV 4K is powered by the A15 Bionic chip and includes a Siri Remote with a USB-C charging port instead of a Lightning port. Apple has doubled the storage capacities to 64GB and 128GB and reduced the starting price to $129.
Short term, Apple is expected to continue providing software updates for Apple TV fourth generation and later, and all models released since then can run tvOS 16. However, we don’t know how much longer Apple will keep releasing new versions of tvOS for the discontinued Apple TV HD.
