i have just ordered a refurbished Apple TV. I now notice that it says originally released March 2012. But I see that there was a revision in January 2013. Can anyone tell me about the revision, and how to check which version I have received?
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Third generation, January 2013 revision
- Thread starter Notechy
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Functionally, it is exactly the same (else it would be the 
TV4). The A5 inside is a die-shrunk version which uses a little less power than the former version of the same chip (but this is not going to be something you'll notice in any dramatic way on an electric bill). The former version- apparently the one you are getting- was already pretty miserly in terms of power usage.
Here's a longer story that lays it out: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/0...-processor-could-be-quietly-momentous-update/ This story's headline makes it sound like a bigger deal but the gist of the "momentous" is Apple apparently moving away from Samsung for A-series chip production at the time (a decision that appears to have been reversed more recently) NOT that it brought something tangibly new and great to this little box.
TV4). The A5 inside is a die-shrunk version which uses a little less power than the former version of the same chip (but this is not going to be something you'll notice in any dramatic way on an electric bill). The former version- apparently the one you are getting- was already pretty miserly in terms of power usage.Here's a longer story that lays it out: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/0...-processor-could-be-quietly-momentous-update/ This story's headline makes it sound like a bigger deal but the gist of the "momentous" is Apple apparently moving away from Samsung for A-series chip production at the time (a decision that appears to have been reversed more recently) NOT that it brought something tangibly new and great to this little box.
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They both do the same thing. The silent revision uses a single-core version of the die-shrunk A5 that went into the iPad 2 (also as a silent update). Didn't do much for the AppleTV but that particular version of the iPad 2 I think still holds the battery life record for the iPad family.
Didn't they also update the wifi chip in the silent revision? The prior ATV3 had faulty wifis, some of which were recalled.
@Notechy - odds are, the refurb you get will be updated / revised one. I highly doubt they have any of the older ones in stock still, and I they continue to use the original launch date on the refurb page in spite of the silent revision.
@Notechy - odds are, the refurb you get will be updated / revised one. I highly doubt they have any of the older ones in stock still, and I they continue to use the original launch date on the refurb page in spite of the silent revision.