tvOS 18 Compatible With Apple TV HD Released Nearly Nine Years Ago

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I would love an Apple TV based on the M4, get some console level games on it.

Probably better hope would be for Apple to resurrect Front Row... which was basically the AppleTV UI as an app that ran on Macs. Then Mac Mini could be the pro AppleTV at an M4 AppleTV price... or Mac Studio Ultra or Pro could be the widely overkill AppleTV of wildest (power) dreams.

Between the 2, I think this one is more likely... but I wouldn't hold my breath for it either. It's been a very long time since they retired Front Row.

 

[grobik]

With their push for Meal Game Porting Toolkit in mind, I'd be more interested in serious Mac games if they created a playstation remote play type compatibility with Apple TV. I might actually buy A+ titles on my Mac if I could pickup a controller and play them via Apple TV link on my tv screen.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Buy yourself a (much less expensive) gaming PC with a Nvidia graphics card. Get A+ games on that PC. Install the free Moonlight app on your AppleTV and stream the games running on PC through AppleTV to your TV screen. It "just works" very well... and there's no waiting for Apple to get around to something. Buy today, play A+ games tonight!

Else, with Apple & gaming, be prepared to wait for up to forever. Apple runs a "build it and they will come" model. PC & Playstation and Xbox run a "we'll pay you lots of money and/or buy your gaming studios"- even front you lots of money- to build A+ games for us. One gets game programmers paid now and paid well going forward. The other demands the game programmer gamble & hope that a big payday will come in the future. It's easy to recognize which way many choose.

IMO: Apple- if serious about gaming THIS time- needs to allocate money & focus to gaming like they have with AppleTV+ original content development. They throw a LOT of money & talent at that and it gets them focus on creating that content that is then owned by Apple... exclusives to Apple and only Apple. They could do the same with games, buying game studios like the competitors do and then having exclusives for Silicon. As much as it can sound like Apple is serious about gaming, it doesn't seem to ever go THERE. Silicon might be terrific hardware with lots of gaming potential but money talks. If superior hardware for gaming is all it took, we'd likely still be using Amigas in 2024.

 

[bodonnell202]

Makes you wonder if dropping 32-bit support and A8 in iOS 13 was really necessary in 2020. I guess when Apple wants to sell subscriptions, they'll do anything to keep old hardware alive.

They kept supporting A8 devices with 2 GB of RAM through the release of iOS 16 in 2022, and they were still pretty capable (just not that fastest). The 1 GB of RAM on the iPhone 6/6 Plus was more of a liability. tvOS honestly hasn't changed that much since it was released so it's not surprise that the A8 with 2 GB of RAM can still handle it 9 years later...

 

[bodonnell202]

I still have one that I bought a couple months after it was released in 2015 and is still used in our bedroom, hooked up to an older 1080p TV. We may not use that TV much, but when we do it honestly it still feels as fast as when it was new... really no need to replace it until it can't support the apps we use on it, which it sounds like won't be anytime soon!

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

Apple really needs to figure out how to keep AppleTV relevant. All TVs sold now come with smart software. Why doesn't Apple partner with a TV manufacturer and get tvOS on an actual TV?

 

[lkrupp]

Crossing my fingers for audio format passthrough instead of multichannel PCM.

 

[jwolf6589]

Here is something that Apple TV HD owners probably didn't expect when they purchased the device all the way back in 2015: it continues to receive software updates.

Apple's developer website confirms that the tvOS 18 update unveiled today is compatible with all Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models.

tvOS 18 compatibility list:

• Apple TV HD (2015)
• Apple TV 4K (2017)
• Apple TV 4K (2nd Generation) (2021)
• Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation) (2022)

tvOS 18 introduces a new InSight feature, includes updates to Enhance Dialogue and subtitles, adds new screen savers, supports 21:9 video playback for playing movies and shows on projectors, and more, as outlined in our coverage of the update.

The first tvOS 18 developer beta is available for Apple Developer Program members starting today, and Apple said that a public beta will follow in July. The update should be widely released to all users with a compatible Apple TV in September.

Article Link: tvOS 18 Compatible With Apple TV HD Released Nearly Nine Years Ago

They had not advertised TV OS in many years and am glad they did this time. Looks like a few new features...

 

[jwolf6589]

Apple really needs to figure out how to keep AppleTV relevant. All TVs sold now come with smart software. Why doesn't Apple partner with a TV manufacturer and get tvOS on an actual TV?

Smart TV software is garbage compared to appleTV as I have a samsung smart TV and MUCH would rather be on the ATV. I can use my AirPods, HomePod, have the photos app, podcasts app, and so on.

 

[subjonas]

The current remote is perfectly fine

The only things I wish for are minor: a built-in speaker to find the remote, and ability to disable the black buttons to turn on the TV—I hit them on accident occasionally so I’d rather only the flat power button can turn on the TV. But the last one should just be a software change.

 

[Mainyehc]

Makes you wonder if dropping 32-bit support and A8 in iOS 13 was really necessary in 2020. I guess when Apple wants to sell subscriptions, they'll do anything to keep old hardware alive.

Why are you conflating the two? As @Johnkoo just said, both have the A8, and that chip is… you've guessed it, 64-bit. It may be too slow to support all the latest features from iOS back in 2020, but it's probably good enough for tvOS in 2024 and supports the shared iOS/iPadOS/tvOS 64-bit-only kernel, so if it works across the board (minus, I'm guessing, the 4K part, support for more recent games, etc.), why drop it?

 

[Suxamethonium]

Buy yourself a (much less expensive) gaming PC with a Nvidia graphics card. Get A+ games on that PC. Install the free Moonlight app on your AppleTV and stream the games running on PC through AppleTV to your TV screen. It "just works" very well... and there's no waiting for Apple to get around to something. Buy today, play A+ games tonight!

Else, with Apple & gaming, be prepared to wait for up to forever. Apple runs a "build it and they will come" model. PC & Playstation and Xbox run a "we'll pay you lots of money and/or buy your gaming studios"- even front you lots of money- to build A+ games for us. One gets game programmers paid now and paid well going forward. The other demands the game programmer gamble & hope that a big payday will come in the future. It's easy to recognize which way many choose.

IMO: Apple- if serious about gaming THIS time- needs to allocate money & focus to gaming like they have with AppleTV+ original content development. They throw a LOT of money & talent at that and it gets them focus on creating that content that is then owned by Apple... exclusives to Apple and only Apple. They could do the same with games, buying game studios like the competitors do and then having exclusives for Silicon. As much as it can sound like Apple is serious about gaming, it doesn't seem to ever go THERE. Silicon might be terrific hardware with lots of gaming potential but money talks. If superior hardware for gaming is all it took, we'd likely still be using Amigas in 2024.

This is the way. The only issue is if you're buying an Apple TV as your client device for Moonlight it's probably not the best option (though a great option if you have one already). If there was AV1 support and the HDMI ports (which apparently are HDMI 2.1 on the latest Apple TV 4K) supported 120Hz then Moonlight would be a killer feature given the other options are the Shield (which is is great despite being long in the tooth but will never support 4K120Hz without new hardware nor AV1) or a mini PC (which is a bit fiddly but the highest quality option).

 

[JosephAW]

I fired up my third generation the other day to see if they fix the iCloud issue but they haven’t,
But I was able to play purchased videos, so it’s still kicking.
Glad to see my old Apple TV HD getting a little bit more love.
Of course iPhone devices released after that have been thrown under the bus.

 

[JoeShades]

Apple really needs to figure out how to keep AppleTV relevant. All TVs sold now come with smart software. Why doesn't Apple partner with a TV manufacturer and get tvOS on an actual TV?

Ask yourself this question, if all tvs now have smart software , why do Apple tvs, rokus, and firetvs sell millions, if you can't answer you must have been frozen in 2005 and now are awake, I want to welcome you to the 2020s, it has been a fun decade

 

[JoeShades]

The only things I wish for are minor: a built-in speaker to find the remote, and ability to disable the black buttons to turn on the TV—I hit them on accident occasionally so I’d rather only the flat power button can turn on the TV. But the last one should just be a software change.

I would like a backlight, but that would probably kill the battery fast, an input button something i see requested but when I hit the home button it switches inputs

 

[WiscoNicky]

I love it! I have the Apple TV HD and it still runs circles around my parents newer Roku devices. I don't want for anything when using it, and actually forget which one I'm using (I also have a newer Apple TV) because it performs just as well as the newer device.

 

[subjonas]

I would like a backlight, but that would probably kill the battery fast, an input button something i see requested but when I hit the home button it switches inputs

You can memorize the buttons, I believe in you!
Input switch would be good if the ATV remote could control the other devices like a universal remote, but if not then probably not that useful to have it. I think even better would be if all other devices (antennas, Bluray players etc) could be accessed through an ATV app so that the ATV UI controls everything.

 

[Realityck]

Apple really needs to figure out how to keep AppleTV relevant. All TVs sold now come with smart software. Why doesn't Apple partner with a TV manufacturer and get tvOS on an actual TV?

Because most TV manufacturers user their own propriety operating system, or android. tvOS only runs on ARM processors and is a 24/7 OS derived from iOS. Apple provided their AppleTV + app to most TV manufacturers instead. It's also another Apple device you can interact with from Iphones/IPads, and Macs. I use three in my residence and can readily airplay from multiple devices to each as needed for content where there is no app and you instead needs a browser to work. Note all three are running tvOS 18 beta currently.

 

[progx]

Wondering if they’re going to stick the M-series chips in the next one. With all these games coming, don’t think Apple wants to miss tying the Apple TV into this new system.

Apple TV 4K (A-series)
Apple TV Pro (M-series)

 

[progx]

Apple really needs to figure out how to keep AppleTV relevant. All TVs sold now come with smart software. Why doesn't Apple partner with a TV manufacturer and get tvOS on an actual TV?

Seems like it’s doing fine. The Apple TV 4K boxes are among the top boxes with Roku and NVIDIA’s Shield TV line. Even with TVs that have their “smart features,” I’m still surprised how many boxes are still selling combined from Roku, Apple, Amazon and other Android TV makers.

 

[a.coward]

Crossing my fingers for audio format passthrough instead of multichannel PCM.

Passthrough is already supported for Atmos encoded in Dolby Digital+ (lossy). However, it will not pass TrueHD (lossless). This is supported for streaming media as well as local media using Infuse (and possibly others). Plex does not support this, but Plex has other audio issues (such as audio sync) which makes it unusable.

I doubt Apple will ever support Atmos TrueHD or DTS:X on current devices as there is no streaming service which supports these. And, there is just no financial incentive for Apple to pay for the necessary licenses to support these formats for local streaming media.

But, yeah, it is quite an annoying limitation when you have a multi-channel audio system.

 

[Scoob Redux]

Why wouldn't we expect that? I expect my TV to last longer than 9 years. Why wouldn't the streaming box still work with the latest OS? Streaming just doesn't change much.

 

[svish]

Not many changes. Anyway good to see that older Apple TV models are supported.

 

[match14]

They stopped selling it in 2022, so maybe it'll get two more years of software updates (so the last people to buy one get 4 years of updates through 2026). I still use two of them so am glad they keep working! Actually...I think they were/are still selling it refurbished this year?

Stopped selling watch SE gen 1 in 2022 but dropped support for it.

 

[im_to_hyper]

Thank goodness Apple is setting a 10-15 life span for living room/entertainment are devices.

These have a minor “halo effect” with my parents (separated) and friends I’ve hooked up with one.

They get the Apple TV.
Then they get a HomePod.
Then they switch to iPhone.
Then they want an iPad.
Then they want to look at my M1 MacBook and upgrade from their old laptop… etc.

It’s not a traditional “Halo device” but it’s great for what it is and what ecosystem purchases it encourages.

Oh and it’s great for kids games with an old PS4 controller.