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Apple TV 4K Teardown Reveals 3GB of RAM and Larger Venting System With Replaceable Fan

Tuesday September 26, 2017 4:36 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iFixit has shared an Apple TV 4K teardown, providing a closer look at the device's internal design and components.


We already know the Apple TV 4K is equipped with Apple's 64-bit A10X Fusion chip, and now the teardown confirms the device has a total of 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM supplied by SK Hynix. That's up from 2GB RAM in the previous Apple TV.

1GB + 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM outlined in yellow for a total of 3GB of RAM

The new power supply is rated for 12V at 1.083A, a modest increase over the 12V at 0.917A power supply in the previous Apple TV.

According to the teardown, Apple merged the new fan with the heat sink/EMI shield assembly from the fourth-generation Apple TV to create a larger thermal assembly for cooling and ventilation.


iFixit said the bottom of the unit has been redesigned with a total of eight exhaust ports and a new, replaceable fan driven by a Nidec brushless motor.

Beyond the return of a Gigabit Ethernet port and the removal of the USB-C diagnostic port, which we learned about before the teardown, the Apple TV 4K's design is largely the same as the previous Apple TV.

Apple TV 4K has no USB-C port

iFixit gave the Apple TV 4K a repairability score of 8 out of a possible 10 points. The device is easy to open and has modular components, but they're soldered to the logic board, so board-level soldering or full board replacements are required.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12
Tags: iFixit, teardown
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
[ 69 comments ]


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Return Zero
10 months ago
I am absolutely loving mine so far. Even with the resolution increase, it is noticeably snappier than my 4th gen models. Launching apps, using the switcher, boot up, everything is just a breeze. Also, watching 4 simultaneous football games in 1080p HD through the new ESPN app is some kind of magic.



Rating: 28 Votes
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nikko1423
10 months ago
Apple made something repairable?! What trickery is this?!?
Rating: 15 Votes
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attilavago85
10 months ago
I am not sure removing the USB-C port was a particularly great idea. Sure, xCode 9 can deploy via wireless network, but what if, as a developer, you end up in the situation where you've no network access. It does happen! I don't care about Kodi and the likes, but from a developer's perspective I think this just made things a bit less friendly.
Rating: 5 Votes
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bbplayer5
10 months ago
I have to be honest, compared to the shield, this is the biggest piece of garbage I have seen. Doesn't support Atmos, and the thing tries to make everything HDR. Also wouldn't play any of my UHD videos on plex without transcoding (which could be a plex issue but still).

Shield out of the box supported everything and works flawlessly.
Rating: 4 Votes
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fpsBeaTt
10 months ago
Apple TV has lpddr4, $3k MBP still doesn’t. That’s intel for ya.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Moto6502
10 months ago
I wonder how a "restore" would work now without the USB-C connector? Through the ethernet?
Rating: 3 Votes
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gnipgnop
10 months ago
Surprised that it actually does include a fan. Possibly due to the A10X in combination with a plastic case?
Rating: 3 Votes
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jezbd1997
10 months ago

Wait a second. Apple TV3 doesn't have gigabit?

No Apple TV has had gigabit until the 4K version. The 4th gen should've but finally it's arrived...
Rating: 3 Votes
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JeffPerrin
10 months ago

The first iOS device with a fan.


So we're back to fans? Really?!? :(


//
Rating: 3 Votes
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Braderunner
10 months ago
Apple needs to repair that remote. I can’t believe Tim Cook uses that remote, and thinks it’s fine. I’m not sure if Eddie Cue is responsible for it, but if he is....
Rating: 3 Votes

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