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Apple TV HD With Original Siri Remote is Now Vintage

Problem is, these devices will last forever (relatively speaking). They have none of the components that usually break (no screen, battery, spinning drive, etc.). At least they are all still running the lastest tvOS. Once support is dropped, they will slowly turn into bricks. I know a few people who still have 1st gen Apple TV’s lying around…
 
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lostPod said:
Nice. Dropped this remote today on my tile and the glass broke. Not a big fan of this remote. I still like the old silver ones better lol.

Edit: only referring to the remote — tv is still good
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Congratulations!

Crapest remote ever.

Unfortunately mine has survived numerous flings at my concrete walls with only a little chip under the bottom glass.

If there was anything Ive should have been fired for it’s this.

I keep my old silver remote on the side just in case.
 
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dantracht said:
Yet it's still being sold. Um.....huh?
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thadoggfather said:
That should not be legal, how can you sell an EOL device?
Extremely anti-consumer imo.
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I think a lot of people here are confused.
The current Apple TV HD that Apple is selling is not vintage.
There have been two slight modifications to the Apple TV since it released all the way back in 2015.
Starting in September 2017, all future models shipped with a slightly changed Siri remote with a white ring around the menu button.
If your Siri remote has this white ring, you are still covered. Your product is not vintage and won’t be vintage until 2026.
It’s purely just the Apple TV HDs sold without the white ring from October 2015 to September 2017.
The current version they have been selling since May 2021 comes with the new updated second generation Siri Remote with the iPod click wheel style trackpad. That one won’t be vintage until five years after Apple discontinues it, which… who knows when that’ll be.
And even then, if you have an Apple TV with the original first generation no ring Siri remote, I highly doubt that Apple will refuse you service.
So yeah, there’s nothing that sinister or anti-consumer about this. It’s just a little bit dumb and confusing.
TLDR: nothing to worry about here. Apple is not still selling a product they consider vintage, and if you have an Apple TV HD, you’re fine, nothings really changing.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
I think a lot of people here are confused.
The current Apple TV HD that Apple is selling is not vintage.
There have been two slight modifications to the Apple TV since it released all the way back in 2015.
Starting in September 2017, all future models shipped with a slightly changed Siri remote with a white ring around the menu button.
If your Siri remote has this white ring, you are still covered. Your product is not vintage and won’t be vintage until 2026.
It’s purely just the Apple TV HDs sold without the white ring from October 2015 to September 2017.
The current version they have been selling since May 2021 comes with the new updated second generation Siri Remote with the iPod click wheel style trackpad. That one won’t be vintage until five years after Apple discontinues it, which… who knows when that’ll be.
And even then, if you have an Apple TV with the original first generation no ring Siri remote, I highly doubt that Apple will refuse you service.
So yeah, there’s nothing that sinister or anti-consumer about this. It’s just a little bit dumb and confusing.
TLDR: nothing to worry about here. Apple is not still selling a product they consider vintage, and if you have an Apple TV HD, you’re fine, nothings really changing.
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considering its the same set top box with a different remote, that distinction is even more unsettling imo. an arbitrary distinction of end of life and not.
 
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So now we have to buy new TV boxes every six years like we do iPhones? Are they going to stop releasing software updates And new apps won’t work on them?

This is a pure money grab by Apple.

The Apple HD still works absolutely fine.

If this news is True, I just switched to Roku. I didn’t mind paying way too much for a TV box once. But I’m not doing it every six years. Especially since I have five TV‘s in my house.

Apple thinks it‘s being clever and just cost me ~$750 if I want to keep upgrading my apps. The reality is they just lost a customer who used to be very loyal to them. I’m gonna have to go back and question laptops, phones, tablets, and the TV box question looks like it’s already been answered. The Apple ecosystem is looking really ****ing greedy, I wasn’t into the Watch thing.
 
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My Apple TV HD (first rev) is still mostly serving me well. I find that the Movies app sometimes seem to crash, and I need to reboot the unit for it to work and connect.

I don't feel a big drive to get a UHD/HDR TV at this point, so my Apple TV HD has been fine and I haven't upgraded. I guess if it dies or stops being supported by app developers, I will get a new one, but I would like to see if Apple releases a seriously upgraded Apple TV at some point.
 
AppleTO said:
Problem is, these devices will last forever (relatively speaking). They have none of the components that usually break (no screen, battery, spinning drive, etc.). At least they are all still running the lastest tvOS. Once support is dropped, they will slowly turn into bricks. I know a few people who still have 1st gen Apple TV’s lying around…
Click to expand...
The ssd will die one day.
 
Not sure why everyone's talking about replacing devices. The vintage status doesn't change if the device works or not, it just an AppleCare change. This happens automatically with all Apple products 5 years after the date of last sale it becomes vintage, and 7 years it becomes obsolete. The only practical difference to the consumer is decreasing parts availability, and honestly the Apple TV is so cheap most are probably not having them repaired, and just replacing them if they have issues with them.

Because the remote changed it means the 4th gen Apple TV with the original remote style had a discontinue date assigned, so thus it started the vintage/obsolete timer.
 
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Radeon85 said:
Good riddance to that horrific touch remote, pain in the ass to use and teaching new owners especially older people how to use it and treat it like a laptop touchpad was really annoying. The current updated version is how it should have been done from the start.
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You can't get more accurate than this! It was the worst user experience ever! If John Ives had anything to do with it (form over functionality), then good riddance he is gone too!
 
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Soccertess said:
You can't get more accurate than this! It was the worst user experience ever! If John Ives had anything to do with it (form over functionality), then good riddance he is gone too!
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He probably didn't have a direct hand in the design of it; but it's definitely from the design language they used back then which he was responsible for.

Kind of looks a 1st gen nano.
 
I was a little afraid this meant my Apple TV was vintage, but then I realized I bought a new remote for it. So I guess this means my Apple TV is still good? 😅
 
sublunar said:
I think it's a legal construct yes - Apple must maintain the ability to provide a replacement unit for up to 5 years after the product is discontinued - I think it's a Californian regulation.

At some point the Apple TV HD came with the amended remote which has a white ring and indentation around the Menu button to make it easier to find in the dark - I think it came with the original 4k model in 2017.

And it was further replaced in April 2021 with the silver Siri Remote that comes with the newest 4k models.

I believe anyone who bought an OG model needing a replacement remote will get the one from the model which had the updated one.

I haven't bothered to go back and check the articles relating to this but it's all in there - basically you won't get left behind with this as the Siri Remote will work with it.
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Reading the article again (it might be revised ?) I don't think the OG is available for sale or has been since 2017 (5 years ago).

So they don't have to replace that. The new model with the white ring is the one they might still replace but even that one is hard to find, everyone HD non 4k one I see on sale online comes with the new silver remote.
 
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psylence2k said:
Don't know why they would put it on the vintage list then if you can still buy it and you'll just get a better upgraded remote as a "repair".

I don't know if any other vintage apple product has worked like this where the only option around will be just to automatically upgrade you to the next generation but I can't remember one that went on the vintage list while still being available for purchase either.
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The current one being sold is not vintage
 
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I never have and never will understand the consumer appreciation of the AppleTV in every form of it’s little black streaming box concept.

Apple was early and got it right early with the original that had local storage for my own content. It felt like a premium device in the market.

The current one is up against Roku, Fire Stick, ChromeCast, etc, and feels like overpriced crap with a continually terrible remote. Apple’s remotes and mice have always been quite terrible.

I was late to the game and have had the 2, 3, HD and now 4K. Each with their own issues like crashing and my favorite now, the 4K’s terrible network port with many threads saying just leave it on wireless. It disconnects from the network constantly - even while it’s both hardwired and with my wireless credentials saved.

So it sits as a coaster under the last AC Time Capsule due to its form factor, and as a home hub for a couple of smart switches. It’s an input to our RokuTV logged in with all my crap so I don’t have to log out or swap accounts with the wife and kids’ stuff. Which, really, I could skip entirely because current RokuTVs received an update for native AirPlay 2.

I don’t get it. Why does this overpriced product exist, with its terrible remote(s), yet they don’t make routers?
😭

I feel better.
 
levander said:
So now we have to buy new TV boxes every six years like we do iPhones? Are they going to stop releasing software updates And new apps won’t work on them?

This is a pure money grab by Apple.

The Apple HD still works absolutely fine.

If this news is True, I just switched to Roku. I didn’t mind paying way too much for a TV box once. But I’m not doing it every six years. Especially since I have five TV‘s in my house.

Apple thinks it‘s being clever and just cost me ~$750 if I want to keep upgrading my apps. The reality is they just lost a customer who used to be very loyal to them. I’m gonna have to go back and question laptops, phones, tablets, and the TV box question looks like it’s already been answered. The Apple ecosystem is looking really ****ing greedy, I wasn’t into the Watch thing.
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Literally what are you on about?
The Apple TV HD is still getting software updates, it’s still going to work just fine. Nothing is changing here.
tvOS16 beta runs just fine.
Maybe actually read the article where they point out it’s simply a remote revision that’s being classified as vintage before jumping to the worst conclusion.
The Apple TV HD is still getting software updates. It’s still being supported by Apple. It’s not breaking down. It’s not being discontinued. You don’t have to buy anything new. you don’t have to spend any money for anything.
“Vintage” is simply a term relating to AppleCare coverage.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I’ll buck the trend…

With a silicone case on it, I really like the Siri remote (with big trackpad)

Briefly tried the newest one and really dislike the loud click sounds and “trackpad on buttons” solution.
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The old remote, with a silicone case (the long-discontinued Griffin SurvivorPlay), was my favorite remote for a long time - small, easy to hold, easy to reach every control without reaching over a lot of other buttons. The new one took some time to grow on me, but now I like it even more (also in a silicone case, this one with a pocket for an AirTag at the base). The buttons are crisp, I don’t notice a noise - perhaps it subsides over time. The old trackpad was better as a trackpad, but the new one is better when you actually want directional arrows.

I’m hoping that maybe one day Apple can figure out how to make a remote that doesn’t need a silicone case (or, I don’t know, comes with one), in order to fit in the hand nicely. And, Apple, build in the damn AirTag - you literally sell all the pieces of the solution, don’t leave it to third parties to take the last step.
 
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