Apple TV 4K Teardown Reveals 3GB of RAM and Larger Venting System With Replaceable Fan - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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

iFixit has shared an Apple TV 4K teardown, providing a closer look at the device's internal design and components.

ifixit apple tv 4k teardown
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.

apple tv 4k logic board

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.

apple tv 4k thermal
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.

no usb c port on apple tv 4k

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 Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

General visionOS watchOS and tvOS Betas Feature Redux

Apple Releases First watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5 and visionOS 26.5 Betas

Monday March 30, 2026 10:38 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 betas for testing purposes. The software comes a week after Apple launched the 26.4 versions of each platform. The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device, and because these are developer betas, a free developer account is required. There's no word on...
Cape Fear 2026

Apple TV Teases New 'Highly Anticipated' Psychological Thriller Series

Tuesday March 31, 2026 6:31 am PDT by
Apple today released a teaser trailer for Cape Fear, a new "highly anticipated" psychological thriller series starring Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, and Javier Bardem. The first two episodes of the 10-episode limited series will premiere on Apple TV on Friday, June 5, and one new episode will follow every Friday through July 31. In the series, Apple says a storm is coming for happily married...
apple tv 4k new orange

Apple Says Three More Products Are Now 'Vintage' or 'Obsolete'

Tuesday March 31, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple today added the MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) to its "vintage" products list, meaning the device is now only eligible for repairs at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers if parts remain available. The MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) was the final MacBook Air model released before Apple redesigned the laptop and gave it a Retina display in 2018. Apple also added all iPad...

Top Rated Comments

Return Zero Avatar
112 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.



Attachment Image
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
112 months ago
Apple made something repairable?! What trickery is this?!?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
112 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.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fpsBeaTt Avatar
112 months ago
Apple TV has lpddr4, $3k MBP still doesn’t. That’s intel for ya.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
112 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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JeffPerrin Avatar
112 months ago
The first iOS device with a fan.
So we're back to fans? Really?!? :(


//
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)