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Apple TV HD With Original Siri Remote is Now Vintage

SkippyThorson said:
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.
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Wait, you have so much disdain for the Apple TV that you’ve bought four generations of the device? Why? Also, what problem with the network port? I’ve got it connected to gigibit fiber and have never seen a problem, and the Speedtest app routinely reports 940 Mbps up and down (eh, 939 in the test I just ran).
 
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I am still using that remote with my ATV 4K. I don’t mind it. The only bit I don’t like is being glass it of course has been damaged and is covered in tape. But it still works. And blowed if I pay AUD$79 for a new remote.
 
Nicky G said:
Do you have the sense Roku supports their hardware for as long as Apple has supported the Apple TV HD?
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the thing is, Roku prices their TV boxes so that they are disposable. I paid $150/$180 for thsee Apple TV’s brand new. A year later I paid $50 for a Roku for my sister that actually already had a finder feature on its remote control. A feature Apple TV STILL does not have.

the one I got for my sister, it was a good deal because it was a Christmas sale. It was originally a $100 unit I remember. But Apple TV’s never go on sale like that.
 
My parents absolutely hated that remote, bought them a Channel Master Apple TV remote off eBay for ~$17, they love it. Note, this has the home button too. Very important.
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
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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It’s possible the MacRumors article is wrong. But that’s not what the article says. Here’s the very first part of the article:

”When the Apple TV HD was first released in 2015, it came with a first-generation Siri Remote without a white ring around the Menu button — only units that shipped with this ring-less remote are now considered vintage”

It clearly says the entire unit is considered vintage. Not just the remote.

if the article is wrong and they just made the remote vintage, I’m fine with that. That remote sucks and I can not believe they haven’t replaced it with a version that supports Find My yet.

Having to upgrade the remote when they finally come out with one that supports Find My is enough of an insult to us Apple fanbois. If they are deprecating the entire unit, I am re-evaluating every piece of Apple hardware I own to see if I want to stay on the Apple ecosystem with it in the future. Just too many of these “Screw you Apple fans!” have been coming from Apple. And I’m a software engineer who:s about to retire. I was going to buy a MacBook Pro and develop some ideas I’ve had into iPhone software (probably give away for free, I’m retiring and don’t need the money). I might be writing Android software instead.
 
contacos said:
I personally just use the remote of my tv. No need to deal with multiple remotes
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This reminds me of the time when I used to have multiple remotes in my house. One for the TV; another for the DVD player; another for the AV amplifier (that one was horrendously complicated); another for the Apple TV. Probably others that I’ve long forgotten about.

To coordinate these numerous devices I used a programmable Philips Pronto remote. Horribly expensive and ran out of juice pretty quickly. If I had my time over, I’d tell myself there are better things to do with your life than design Pronto screens and go scrabbling around the internet trying to find discrete IR OFF codes for devices. (To the uninitiated, most devices controlled by infrared have a power toggle button, which is next to useless if you’re turning multiple devices off at the same time. Inevitably, half the devices would turn off; the other half would turn on).

I ditched the DVD player. DVD quality is rubbish these days, and who needs hundreds of discs cluttering the house. I ditched the AV amp and surround speakers because the sound bar is good enough for my little house. I even scrapped the subwoofer because the sound bar has plenty of bass.

Today, I use my Samsung remote (which is really good, super tactile and ergonomic, much better than the Samsung TV) to control the TV as well as the Apple TV. But… I do have the Apple TV on standby most of the time, and it needs the Apple TV remote to wake up. I did notice that the Apple TV consumes a fair bit of power when fully active (I have a smart meter) and it saves a few £ a year by having it on standby.
 
Still have this Apple TV working perfectly well on my secondary Tv, and I know it's not the accepted opinion but I loved this remote. The bigger touch area made it a breeze to scroll through large infuse libraries.

Do have the newer 4K Apple TV on my 75" screen, while everything is great I do feel the new remote is a bit clunky. However mute button was a must have that was missed in the older gen (what were they even thinking). Only downside is the pitifully smaller touch area, instead opting for buttons which I never use.

All in all, win some and lose some.
 
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Also seemingly bucking the trend I will say while a glass covered remote with how often they get dropped fills me with a high level of anxiety. This remote with a silicon cover is the best. The later version with built in Siri that actually recognises your commands for entering text is a blessing.
With the touchpad the speed and ease to move around programs, items, scroll through a show and control what was going on was seamless. Going to a cheap looking aluminium remote with buttons feels old fashioned.
 
This literally makes no sense? As others have said the TV box on sale 'today' is 'exactly' the same as the one they've now made vintage. Only the remote is 'slightly' different. Definitely seems to be planned obsolescence to me.

Meanwhile Nvidia is still updating its 7 year old Shield TV, I think.
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple this week added the Apple TV HD with the original Siri Remote to its vintage products list. The device became vintage on June 30, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, but the public-facing list was only updated recently.

Apple-TV-HD-Siri-Remote-Without-Menu-Ring.jpeg

When the Apple TV HD was first released in 2015, it came with a first-generation Siri Remote without a white ring around the Menu button — only units that shipped with this ring-less remote are now considered vintage. Apple added a white ring to the Menu button in 2017 to make the button more prominent when picking up the remote.

Apple TV HD units that shipped with a Siri Remote with a white ring (which is still considered the first-generation Siri Remote) or the second-generation Siri Remote (silver with a circular trackpad) have not been classified as vintage.

A device is classified as vintage after five years have passed since Apple last distributed the device for sale. Vintage products are typically ineligible for repairs at Apple Stores or Apple Authorized Service Providers, unless parts are still available.

Apple continues to sell the Apple TV HD (originally known as the fourth-generation Apple TV) for $149. Beyond changes to the Siri Remote, the device has not received any hardware upgrades since being released nearly seven years ago.

A new Apple TV is planned for release later in 2022, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and it could feature an A14 chip and an increased 4GB of RAM.

Article Link: Apple TV HD With Original Siri Remote is Now Vintage
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Damn, If this is considered vintage than the Apple TV 3rd Generation which I currently use for Apple Airplay/Streaming from iPhone, and Amazon Prime on must be ancient. It hasn't received a software update in years, yet its still working perfectly with my old Macbook Pro Retina and Catalina.

Awesome how stable these cheap Apple TV's are, Mine has been stepped on, scraped, and crammed with stuff on top of it over the years, and it still continues to operate beyond expectation.

I will probably buy a 4th gen Apple TV HD, or the new 2022 model, no rush to upgrade. My Television is only 1080P anyway, anything more than what I have is going to be overkill.
 
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mrr said:
Apple makes its products obsolete too quickly. Particularly the Apple TV which has not changed a whole lot since they introduced it.
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I second this. Steve Jobs would probably have still supported stuff as old as the 3rd Generation non-HD Apple TV. (1080P). Considering my Sharp Aquos television is only 1080P and not likely to die anytime soon, I won't be upgrading anytime soon, Unless Airplay with Catalina and latest iOS somehow breaks and stops working, or stream from YouTube on Mobile devices becomes problematic or something of that sort.

Apple really should be that company that supports all of their products, over the years, As Hardware becomes more reliable, and as Apple continues to pump out quality hardware, we need quality support, because the electronic waste and use of our planets precious minerals and resources is not infinite, we are living in an age of ignorance and consumption is overboard, Devices should last 10-25 years of service, and software updates or support should be planned for at LEAST that long, IMHO.

If Apple were to begin to do this, It would replace everything, in Business and Enterprise day-to-day use, I imagine, because of the ease in supporting such long-term hardware devices and the benefits it would bring to the environment, and change the industry from a planned-obsolescence stance to a long-term future outlook, which is what we as a planet badly require.
 
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w
Mr. Dee said:
Can you imagine if Apple made actual televisions? A TV isn’t something you just upgrade on a whim, but Apple’s world, you would be expected to upgrade every 5 years.
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Imagine the piles of unnecessary electronic waste as a result of forcing people to upgrade such things as Televisions and their computers every 5 years? This is stupid, I am on a MacBook Pro Retina Mid-2012 and it still serves all of my needs as an IT and Media professional. My 1080P Television is from 2010, and my Apple TV 3rd Generation (From 2012) still work and I would hope they do so for another 5-10 years, preferably more if I need to fire them up for legacy purposes or streaming AirPlay audio far in the future. I pay a premium to Apple so that I can expect my hardware to last for 10 Years, I prefer hardware to last for up to 20 years, and if I had it my way everything would be lasting for 100 years. Until we are a Type 1 civilization, or more space-faring, there is no hope of having what we need in terms of resources to continue this consumption long-term.
 
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Cide said:
w

Imagine the piles of unnecessary electronic waste as a result of forcing people to upgrade such things as Televisions and their computers every 5 years? This is stupid, I am on a MacBook Pro Retina Mid-2012 and it still serves all of my needs as an IT and Media professional. My 1080P Television is from 2010, and my Apple TV 3rd Generation (From 2012) still work and I would hope they do so for another 5-10 years, preferably more if I need to fire them up for legacy purposes or streaming AirPlay audio far in the future. I pay a premium to Apple so that I can expect my hardware to last for 10 Years, I prefer hardware to last for up to 20 years, and if I had it my way everything would be lasting for 100 years. Until we are a Type 1 civilization, or more space-faring, there is no hope of having what we need in terms of resources to continue this consumption long-term.
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This is the thing, set too boxes live and die by the apps they have. If Apple stops supporting the device with software updates then the apps could eventually stop working also most likely, ergo you have a paperweight to throw into a landfill that still works perfectly fine. A very very very bad environment policy to have and those solar panels saving their electric bills on their offices do not make up for it.
 
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Pezimak said:
This is the thing, set too boxes live and die by the apps they have. If Apple stops supporting the device with software updates then the apps could eventually stop working also most likely, ergo you have a paperweight to throw into a landfill that still works perfectly fine. A very very very bad environment policy to have and those solar panels saving their electric bills on their offices do not make up for it.
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Exactly my thoughts,
I am concerned my 2012 Apple TV Gen-3 (Rev 2) will stop working for Amazon Prime eventually, and or break AirPlay and that apple won't fix it on the new devices or software, and won't release an update for the vintage hardware. Someone who I used to know has their Amazon Prime filled in to my Apple TV, somehow its still working and I don't pay the bill so its free as long as my Apple TV is able to connect to the service. Once that stops happening, The only remaining use of this AppleTV far in the future would be Music streaming services, to a stereo or speaker set. Lol.

I am trying to think 1000 years into the future, even 10,000 or 100,000, This type of behavior will go down in history as one of the most ignorant times of mankind, in their consumption of electronic goods and waste.
 
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I still like the look of this remote, but unfortunately it was all "style over substance"

Glad to see Apple eventually learned from their mistake (much like with their butterfly keyboards).
 
LV426 said:
This reminds me of the time when I used to have multiple remotes in my house. One for the TV; another for the DVD player; another for the AV amplifier (that one was horrendously complicated); another for the Apple TV. Probably others that I’ve long forgotten about.

To coordinate these numerous devices I used a programmable Philips Pronto remote. Horribly expensive and ran out of juice pretty quickly. If I had my time over, I’d tell myself there are better things to do with your life than design Pronto screens and go scrabbling around the internet trying to find discrete IR OFF codes for devices. (To the uninitiated, most devices controlled by infrared have a power toggle button, which is next to useless if you’re turning multiple devices off at the same time. Inevitably, half the devices would turn off; the other half would turn on).

I ditched the DVD player. DVD quality is rubbish these days, and who needs hundreds of discs cluttering the house. I ditched the AV amp and surround speakers because the sound bar is good enough for my little house. I even scrapped the subwoofer because the sound bar has plenty of bass.

Today, I use my Samsung remote (which is really good, super tactile and ergonomic, much better than the Samsung TV) to control the TV as well as the Apple TV. But… I do have the Apple TV on standby most of the time, and it needs the Apple TV remote to wake up. I did notice that the Apple TV consumes a fair bit of power when fully active (I have a smart meter) and it saves a few £ a year by having it on standby.
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Have you tried the "source" button on your Samsung Remove? I have a Philips TV and when I press the "source" button and navigate to the Apple TV, it wakes it up automatically.

Edit: actually, now that I think about it, I wonder why the AppleTV remains in my sources when it is off. My Xbox for example does not. I guess the Apple TV never really shuts off completely?
 
Since the the 2015 Apple TV is the same as the one currently being sold, only difference being the remote, i assume it will still receive tvOS updates going forward ?
 
dem1stav said:
Since the the 2015 Apple TV is the same as the one currently being sold, only difference being the remote, i assume it will still receive tvOS updates going forward ?
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I'd imagine as long as it continues to be sold, it'll continue to get tvOS updates. tvOS 16 is compatible with the AppleTV HD.
 
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