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Has Apple just abandoned AppleTV?
- Thread starter Wolfpup
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how well does it work with it remotes? Because the included remote is garbage for control, because it uses a proprietary battery , and because you can only use one at a time for some reason. I’d plan on using it for nothing other than setting up IR remotes...
That’s not a safe assumption at all. The longest they’ve supported anything has been the A8x in the iPad Air 2, and then only because it has 2GB. It’s getting a seventh year, but most CPUs have gotten 5, some far less than that, albeit mostly earlier on. Thinking a 4 year old CPU is getting another 5 years of support when the best apple has ever done is 7 years with 5 much more typical is far from a sure thing.
tvOS still supports the A8, and Apple still even sells the AppleTV HD new with that SoC. Even if they discontinue that model in 2021, Apple will keep supporting it for at least a few years after. Apple has never dropped support for hardware less than a few years after last selling it as new. If the A8 still has life left in it, surely the A10x has that much plus more.
That’s factually untrue. They’ve for sure dumped things in as little as two years after release.
maybe they plan on supporting this longer, but they haven’t told us that, and historically the current model would be at the end of its life now.
can anyone comment on my question about the remote?
To my knowledge they still support devices long after their discontinuation.
Not continuing with a model line and ending support are two very different things, heck they’re still sending updates out to the ATV3.
well, like I said, they’ve supported their stuff for as little as 2 years after launch, and 5 is typical for them, the longest they’ve ever supported anything to date is 7, so the current model may be towards the end of its support.
Do you have any examples of Apple dumping support 2 years after its launch? I cannot think of anything.
Do you mean 2 years after Apple discontinues it? Even still, I cannot think of anything with only 2 years of support, but there might be something.
Apple typically gives 5 years of support after they discontinues the device. Lately, there are far more devices that get support more than 5 years after than less than five years.
We might be talking about two different things, as people tend to use terms like "support", "launch", "discontinued", "obsolete", etc. in very different ways, but there has been plenty of devices that continued to get support after 7 years after its launch, and even over 7 years after its discontinuation.
When it comes to the term "support", how are defining it? Do you mean physical repairs? Software Updates?
If you mean physical repairs, Apple will continue to repair devices for at least 7 years after the discontinuation of the device. For example, the iPhone 4 was released in 2010 and discontinued in 2013, and Apple will still repair your broken iPhone 4.
SW updates are typically not as good as physical repair, but still really good compared to some of Apple competitors.
I will skip the 7 years after launch, and just name a few devices that got SW support for 8+ years after its discontinuation:
Late 2009 iMac
Mid 2010 iMac
Mid 2011 iMac
Mid 2010 Mac Mini
Mid 2011 Mac mini
Mid 2010 MBP
Early 2011 MBP
Late 2011 MBP
This list could keep on going...
But something missing from the above list is iOS devices. Maybe that was what you were referring to?
While there isn't any that continued to get SW support 8+ years after discontinuation, there are plenty of iOS devices and other Apple products that continued to get support for a long time after its launch:
Apple TV 3 - 104 Months - still getting updates
Airport Express N 2 - 101 Months - still getting updates
iPad 2 - 100 Months
iPhone 4s - 93 Months
iPad 3 - 88 Months
iPhone 5 - 82 Months
iPhone 5s - 81 Months
iPad 4 - 80 Months
iPad Pad Air 1 - 80 Months
iPad Air 2 - 71 Months - still getting updates
iPad mini 1 - 80 Months
iPad mini 2 - 80 Months
iPhone 6 - 69 Months
iPhone 6 Plus - 69 Months
iPad mini 3 - 68 Months
iPad mini 4 - 61 Months - still getting updates
iPhone 6s Plus - 60 Months - still getting updates
iPhone 6s - 60 Months - still getting updates
iPod Touch 6 - 60 Months
iPad Pro 1 - 60 Months - still getting updates
There are more, but I will leave it at that.
I am sure there are examples were Apple only gave SW support for a short period of time, even if the HW was more than capable to run newer OS versions, like my Mac Pro 1,1 for example. MacOS 10.7 Lion was the last OS officially supported because of the 32-bit boot loader, but Apple could have fixed this. With a boot loader hack, it can easily run 10.11, El Capitan, and run it very well.
But, I think examples like above are not the norm. While early iOS devices did not have a long SW support time, that has changed over time, and iOS devices are lasting longer and longer, on average, every year.
So, like I mentioned earlier, support for the A10X on the ATV4K is not a concern for me.
Even when Apple stops sending SW updates, it isn't like the device will suddenly brick itself, it will continue to work, and if used as a streaming device, will probably continue to work fine long after Apple stops sending the updates.
If you claim something is factually untrue, prove it. It should be easy.
Give me an example of an Apple device (since the second Jobs era, in other words since 1998 or so) for which Apple has ceased offering software updates less than 24 months after last selling it as new at retail. There are none as far as I know.
Update for what? Apple has steadily added new functionality to the Apple TV and it should be obvious it has not been emtoley "abandoned" if you re paying any attention at all. It could use a faster processor and more memory for games but what else needs to be updated? How do you come up with a year "overdue"? Vverdue for what?
Even if it ends up being 'abandoned' or 'dead' or my current model is 'obsolete' so long as it can still load Netflix and Hulu I'm good. Heck, my Wii from like 2008-ish would still load up Netflix and it's a dead platform. Old doesn't mean it's garbage.
Not all bad, you will still be getting the best device on the market.
I have an Apple TV HD. It's got an A8, it's still for sale. It also got updated to tvOS 14.
TV & Home
Simply connect Apple TV, HomePod mini and other accessories to experience a smart home that runs flawlessly across your devices.
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How is it factually untrue?
I’ve really wanted to pick up a new ATV and was disappointed one wasn’t released yet.
I think one key question or issue - how much longer can Apple afford to produce A10X chips to support the ATV? Pretty much all other devices have moved on, so it doesn’t make much sense to keep making them just for ATV.
Yes, I know they have the cash, but it doesn’t make sense form a production and economies of scale perspective.
I think one key question or issue - how much longer can Apple afford to produce A10X chips to support the ATV? Pretty much all other devices have moved on, so it doesn’t make much sense to keep making them just for ATV.
Yes, I know they have the cash, but it doesn’t make sense form a production and economies of scale perspective.
Not OP, but for me, I’d like hardware to allow spatial audio on my Airpods.
Otherwise, I think the argument reasonably boils down to, we’d rather purchase a product at the beginning of it’s life cycle than nearly at the end.
I wouldn't complain so much if Apple would reduce the price of the current one. Purchase a 64GB one on Apple.ca is with taxes $281. (Lousy Canadian dollar).
For tech that's well over three years old and been rumoured to being updated since February. And now there is at least another 5 month wait for a possible release (based on Prosser's rumour).
You'd think with Apple TV+ launched last year and the pandemic this year, Apple would have made a major push to get a new set out since more folks are home.
The waiting better be worth it!
For tech that's well over three years old and been rumoured to being updated since February. And now there is at least another 5 month wait for a possible release (based on Prosser's rumour).
You'd think with Apple TV+ launched last year and the pandemic this year, Apple would have made a major push to get a new set out since more folks are home.
The waiting better be worth it!
You can save some money by purchasing from Apple's refurb store. Don't see any there now, but I have bought three refurbs (one ATV3 and two ATV4's) myself.
Got the ATV4's last winter because I don't need 4k and they were much cheaper. But have to say, not especially happy with them. Lots of odd glitches (mostly with the Sling and Prime apps) that require restarts to clear. My ATV3's were always rock solid and I actually prefered the simpler (and consistently dark) interface. Not interested in games, the only reason I upgraded from the ATV3 was because it didn't support Sling TV.
I suspect that whenever Apple does introduce a new ATV, it will just be more expensive and have a bunch of new features that I don't want.
Hah! Yeah no kidding.
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New chips!!! That'll solve everything!
Yup. This is me. Just got a 4K tv this year, and would love to upgrade my AppleTV but I keep my Apple hardware a long time, and buying something that's seeming at the end of its lifecycle seems like a bad decision. So I'll wait. Not the end of the world -- since it's seemingly not a "this year" thing, I'm assuming it'll probably be a "March of next year" thing, but I guess we'll see.
I'm not sure I understand why spatial audio doesn't work with the AppleTV right now. Unlike the phone, the AppleTV doesn't move and generally it's somewhere near the TV. Can't they just presume that the audio center is the direction of the AppleTV relative to the AirPods (via bluetooth triangulation, same as iphone to airpods). Or are they concerned about it not working for those folks with projectors or more complex setups where the AppleTV itself is not near the screen?
You kidding right? That’s like saying why does the iPhone need to be released every year. What more do people want out of a phone. It’s a phone for gods sake. But still, year after year Apple releases a new iPhone with improvements. So why shouldn’t the Apple TV get improvements too?
The iPhone is a pocket computer that is in constant need of updates as software gets more and more complicated and requires better hardware.
The Apple TV is a streamer..... that’s it. All the required hardware updates that are needed, are done on to servers that feed it content.
No content is created on an Apple TV. Content is created on iPhones, Macs, and iPads. And that is why they need hardware upgrades.
What software gets more complicated? The iPhone is already a powerhorse that is capable of doing whatever you throw at it. It doesn’t NEED to be updated, it’s updated because Apple know how sheeple salivate over a new feature or hardware. It’s what makes them a trillion dollar company.