Apple may not sell a television set, but they do offer a set top box that transforms your
television experience.
It’s called Apple TV, and its story begins back in 2006 at an Apple Special Event.
This is where Steve Jobs introduced the product for the first time.
Back then, it was called iTV.
But after a trademark dispute with a British broadcasting company of the same name, Apple
TV was used instead.
This first generation model was expensive at three hundred dollars, but that’s because
it’s focus was on syncing iTunes content from your computer, and storing it locally.
Which required more expensive components than simply streaming content, which wasn’t popular
at the time.
This also made the Apple TV quite large, at almost eight inches.
Its interface was inspired by a Mac OS X feature called Front Row.
With big glossy icons and simple list selection.
This model’s functionality was quite limited.
You could play movies, TV Shows, and music that you bought from iTunes on your computer,
view your photo library, and stream movie trailers.
But that was pretty much it.
Also, many people found the tiny white plastic remote to be uncomfortable, especially for
those with larger hands.
Sales of the Apple TV were so underwhelming, that Apple didn’t report how many units
were sold.
But instead of discontinuing the product, they went to work on a new and improved model.
Which was introduced in 2010 and featured a design that was 75% smaller.
This was made possible by replacing it’s large hard drive with a small 8GB flash drive,
and focusing on streaming content instead of syncing and downloading.
So users were able to rent movies and TV shows directly from the iTunes Store in 720p HD,
stream their existing iTunes content library from their computer, and even use streaming
apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr.
iOS users could also AirPlay content from their devices directly to Apple TV, and the
remote was updated with an all-aluminum enclosure.
And these improvements actually came with a dramatically reduced price of $99.
This model of Apple TV proved to be a more desirable product, achieving one million sales
in about four months.
Two years later, they updated the product a third time.
Although it’s design and remote stayed the same, it featured a more powerful A5 processor
and supported 1080p HD output.
The bigger change came in 2015 with the fourth generation model.
It added a 64-bit A8 processor, support for Dolby Audio, and a redesigned remote.
Which featured a touchpad at the top for quick swipe navigation, a dedicated Siri button,
a built-in microphone, plus a gyroscope and accelerometer for gaming apps.
That meant an app store was finally brought to the Apple TV, along with an entirely new
operating system called tvOS.
But all this new technology came at a price fifty dollars higher than the previous model.
And this fourth generation Apple TV is still being sold today, six years later for the
same $149 price, under the name Apple TV HD.
In 2017, the fifth generation model featured a faster A10X Fusion processor, Dolby Atmos,
Dolby Vision, HDR10, and the ability to output higher quality 2160p video.
For that reason, this model was called Apple TV 4K.
Finally, its remote was given a raised white ring around the Menu button so you could feel
what you were pressing without looking.
The problem was, many users didn’t like the remote’s touchpad.
Complaining that navigation was inaccurate and frustrating.
So Apple addressed that issue just this year in 2021 with a new version of the Apple TV
4K.
Its biggest change was the remote.
Which is not only larger and thicker to feel more full in the hand, but also has more buttons
and a new way to navigate.
Apple brought back the four-way buttons for precise selection, while integrating a touch
pad in the center for quickly swiping through long lists, and an outer touch ring that’s
reminiscent of the iPod.
Allowing you to fast-forward or rewind with much more precision than before.
There’s also a new mute and power button so you no longer need your TV’s remote for
those actions.
And finally the Siri button is still here, but moved to the side.
Just like on your iPhone.
But the best part of this remote is that it’s backward compatible with any Apple TV running
tvOS.
This new model also features an A12 Bionic chip, support for high frame rate HDR, HDMI
2.1, and Wi-Fi 6.
You can also use your iPhone with Face ID to calibrate your television set through any
Apple TV running tvOS 14.5.
So that is the history of Apple TV, don’t forget to drop a like before you head out,
and I’ll see you in the next video.