New Apple TV Teardown Provides Closer Look at A8 Chip, Larger Heat Sink and Siri Remote

iFixit has posted a hardware teardown of the new fourth-generation Apple TV, providing a closer look at the set-top box's A8 chip, flash storage, redesigned power supply with a larger heat sink and other logic board components. The website also provided a teardown of the accompanying Siri Remote.

ATV4-Teardown
Under the hood, the new Apple TV features a dual-core, 64-bit Apple A8 chip with 2GB of SK Hynix LPDDR3 SDRAM, custom Apple memory controller, SK Hynix NAND flash storage, Universal Scientific Industrial Wi-Fi module and SMSC USB 2.0 to 10/100 Ethernet controller.

Apple TV 4 Components List

  • Apple A8 APL1011 SoC

  • SK Hynix H9CKNNNBKTBRWR-NTH 2 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM

  • Universal Scientific Industrial 339S00045 Wi-Fi module

  • SMSC LAN9730 USB 2.0 to 10/100 Ethernet controller

  • Apple 338S00057 custom memory controller

  • Texas Instruments PA61

  • Fairchild Semiconductor DF25AU 010D 030D

  • DP2700A1

  • SK Hynix H2JTEG8VD1BMR 32 GB NAND Flash

  • NXP 1112 0206 5271B4K

  • V301 F 57K C6XF G4

    The new Apple TV also has a larger heat sink, which is likely a contributing factor to the set-top box's taller form factor. The redesigned power supply is rated at 12V at 0.917A, compared to the third-generation Apple TV's rating of 3.4V at 1.75A. The heat sink is situated above the heat-sensitive logic board.

    ATV4-Teardown-3
    The teardown of the Siri Remote reveals a ST Microelectronics low-power ARM Cortex-M3 MCU, Qualcomm CSR1010 Bluetooth radio, Texas Instruments low-power digital signal processor, the same Broadcom touch screen controller used in the iPhone 5s/5c and iPad Air, 410 mAh battery and a few other chips.

    iFixit gave the new Apple TV a strong repairability score of 8 out of 10, with ten being the easiest to repair, because it has only a few major components, a replaceable power supply and standard Torx screws. It also found the Siri Remote has a wide gap, making it easy to pry apart for repairs.

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  • Top Rated Comments

    critter13 Avatar
    101 months ago
    "We noticed a distinct lack of cables connecting the power supply to the logic board. We're theorizing the power is either transmitted by magic, or through the heat sink screw posts."

    Im going with magic.
    Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    Jsameds Avatar
    101 months ago
    Why do Apple devices look so great in the inside as well.
    Because Steve Jobs' legacy lives on in present day Apple.

    http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-obsession-with-the-quality-of-the-things-unseen/

    The one quote I remember is during a keynote when he said the back of the computer (The Bondi Blue iMac) looked better than the front of everyone else's computers. Classic Steve :D
    Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    HenryDJP Avatar
    101 months ago
    What was the reason Apple omitted optical audio out?
    Maybe because many TV's now have ARC and the Toslink cable can come from the TV to the audio system.
    Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    thekeyring Avatar
    101 months ago
    Not knowing much about the whole regionalisation of TV, how much of a disadvantage do people in Europe have regarding access to services and shows compared to our American cousins?
    Fingers crossed the App Store means we'll finally get BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All4, UKTV Play, etc finally on Apple TV.
    Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    ck2875 Avatar
    101 months ago
    What was the reason Apple omitted optical audio out?
    Yeah, it's a bit disappointing to me, as well, but then maybe I'm a marginalised case user.

    Like the other person replied, a lot of TVs have their own optical out, but I my favourite use of the TV was to airplay music from iTunes on my computer to my home theatre sound system from 2003 which had multiple optical in ports but no HDMI inputs. Basically I had it set up so that I could not have my TV turned on (i.e. not waste electricity) and still have music play.

    TL;DR — A lot of my sh*t is outdated and probably needs replaced.
    Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    Dilster3k Avatar
    101 months ago
    Why do Apple devices look so great in the inside as well.
    Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)