The Original Apple TV 4K Is Vintage — But the HD Model Refuses to Die
DetroitBorg
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Earlier this year, Apple declared the 2015 Apple TV HD obsolete, and now it seems its first 4K model is joining the list as a “vintage” product.
The first-generation Apple TV 4K was released in 2017, so at nine years it’s had a pretty good run. However, it also remained on the market until early 2021, when it was superseded by a second-generation model. Apple publishes its vintage and obsolete products as a single document, but separates the lists by product family and two tiers: “vintage” and “obsolete.”
A product is considered vintage when it’s been off the market for at least five years. At that point, Apple no longer guarantees that it will be able to fix these products, as it’s subject to availability of parts. After two more years (a total of seven), products move to the “obsolete” list, marking the point at which an Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider (AASP) won’t even attempt to service them.
With the second-generation Apple TV 4K landing a little over five years ago and sending the 2017 model into the sunset, the timing is about right here. However, it also exposes an interesting irony in that some models of the Apple TV HD may not have reached even vintage status after all.
As we reported on April 1, 2026, Apple added the Apple TV HD to its list of Apple TV products obsolete worldwide. Specifically, it added the “Apple TV HD, 32GB” and “Apple TV HD (Early 2016, sold with Siri Remote (1st generation) without white ring on Menu button).”
However, it quietly walked that back on June 16, 2026. The “Apple TV HD, 32GB” mysteriously vanished from the list, leaving only the “Early 2016” model. That remains the case on the most current list, which has slid the Apple TV 4K (2017) in under a new “Apple TV products vintage worldwide” heading.
The so-called “Apple TV HD” actually began its life as the “Apple TV (fourth-generation),” because when it launched in 2015, there was no “4K” model to compare it to. While it was the fourth model of the set-top box that Apple had released since the original came along in 2007, it was a very different beast from its predecessor.
The original Apple TV was entirely unique — a hard-drive-based device that was essentially a glorified video iPod — while the second- and third-generation models were dedicated streaming boxes that ran an embedded operating system and a fixed set of apps. The 2015 model changed all that by running tvOS and delivering a full App Store.
It also quickly became one of the longest-lived Apple devices in the company’s history, which is why it might not be too surprising to learn that at least some variants of it aren’t on the vintage or obsolete list.
Unlike the 2017 Apple TV 4K, which was discontinued as soon as its 2021 successor arrived, the 2015 Apple TV remained on the market. The original 64 GB version was quietly discontinued, but Apple kept the 32 GB model around as an entry-level option for those who didn’t need 4K.
Two years later, it rebranded that to the “Apple TV HD” to help differentiate it not only from the 4K model, but from its then-newly-launched “Apple TV+” streaming service. For about six years, it seemed Apple wanted to avoid calling anything just “Apple TV” to avoid confusion, until it finally rebranded the streaming service to just “Apple TV” last year.
While the 2017 and later Apple TV models featured the same set-top box, they came with a subtly different Siri Remote — a version with a white circle around the Menu button. By all accounts, the internals were identical; this was just an aesthetic change.
So, when Apple lists the “Apple TV HD (Early 2016, sold with Siri Remote (1st generation) without white ring on Menu button),” it’s referring to those original Apple TV models, in both the 32 GB and 64 GB capacities. When “Apple TV HD, 32GB” showed up earlier this year, that presumably meant the newer 2017 and later models with “the white ring on Menu button.”
Those models were added to Apple’s vintage list in 2022, and then promoted to obsolete in 2024 — right on schedule from when they were discontinued in 2017.
However, it always seemed like Apple had jumped the gun on the other Apple TV HD model, as that not only remained on the market until October 2022, but was even repackaged with the new silver Siri Remote in early 2021 alongside the second-generation Apple TV 4K.
Apple clearly noticed that mistake and rolled it back, which leaves us in the ironic situation where the original Apple TV HD will actually outlive its first 4K successor, with at least another year to go before it hits the five-year mark and actually earns its place on the vintage list — likely alongside the second-generation Apple TV 4K, which was discontinued at the same time.
Meanwhile, with a new Apple TV 4K expected to appear at Tuesday’s “Welcome Home” event, the clock will undoubtedly begin ticking for the third-generation Apple TV 4K, setting it up for its arrival on the vintage list in 2031.
