Apple lists the first Apple TV 4K as vintage, four days before its expected replacementApple lists the first Apple TV 4K as vintage, four days before its expected replacement

Apple has added the first Apple TV 4K, released in 2017, to its list of vintage products.

The change appeared on 9 October in Apple's support document on service after a warranty expires, under a new heading for Apple TV products that are vintage worldwide. MacRumors spotted it first. Compared with the previous version of the page, dated 15 September, it is the only product added. The entry is listed as AppleTV 4K (2017), model A1842, which Apple's identification page describes as having an A10X Fusion chip, HDMI 2.0a, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet and 32GB or 64GB of storage.

What does vintage mean for repairs?

Apple calls a product vintage when it last sold it more than five and less than seven years ago, and obsolete after seven. Apple says it offers parts and service for at least five years after it last sells a product, and for up to seven where parts allow or the law requires. For a vintage product, that means Apple Stores and authorised service providers can still repair it, but only while parts last. Once it is obsolete, Apple stops all hardware service and providers cannot order parts.

Every older Apple TV is already obsolete worldwide: the first three generations and the Apple TV HD. No source gives the date Apple last sold the 2017 Apple TV 4K, which was replaced by a second-generation model in 2021, so the timing of the listing is not explained.

Does the 2017 Apple TV 4K still get updates?

No. tvOS 27, released on 14 September, dropped support for both the first Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD, MacRumors reported, matching what 9to5Mac found in June. tvOS 27 runs only on the 2021 model, with an A12 Bionic, and the 2022 model, with an A15 Bionic. Owners of the 2017 model keep their apps and their current software, without new features.

What is expected on 13 October

Apple has said nothing about a new Apple TV. MacRumors expects one at Apple's 13 October Welcome home launch, and Bloomberg has reported a new Apple TV alongside the home hub and HomePod mini. The details are leaks. Aaron Perris found an image file naming an Apple TV 4K (4th generation) with an unchanged design, which is Evidence grade, and code he found points to an A17 Pro or newer chip. A faster chip with more memory is MacRumors' inference rather than a report.

Our take

The vintage label matters less than it sounds for most owners. A streaming box is rarely repaired, and the 2017 model has no battery to wear out. The real change came a month ago, when tvOS 27 left it behind: no new features, and in time apps that stop supporting it. Being listed as vintage confirms that Apple now thinks of it as an old product on both counts.

For anyone still using one, the honest advice is that it will keep streaming for years, and that there is no hurry. The case for waiting until next week is simple: Apple is very likely to show a new model, and buying the current one four days before its expected replacement makes no sense.

The case for patience goes further than one week, though. The Apple TV went from 129 to 199 dollars in June, when Apple raised prices on several products and blamed memory costs, CNN reported. APPDOOK would want to see what a new model costs, and whether the Siri AI features its code hints at are restricted to it, before treating a 2017 box as something that needs replacing at all.