It’s been some time coming.
Apple has officially discontinued the third-gen Apple TV set-top box. In an email sent out today to employees and education partners, Apple confirmed that it is discontinuing the device, shifting its focus entirely to the fourth-gen, tvOS-powered model.
In the email, Apple explained that it would fulfill order backlog for the device, but pointed partners towards the other available products for new purchases.
Apple offered the following explanation in the email:
Effective immediately, Apple TV (3rd generation), MD/199LL/A, has reached end of life and is now discontinued. The Apple Supply team is going to fulfill all shippable backlog.
This has been in the works for a while. As of September, Apple began to carry the third-gen Apple TV in fewer retail locations while it became harder to locate the device on the Apple online store.
The third-gen Apple TV was introduced in 2012 and was quietly updated a year later. Since then, Apple has shifted its focus to the tvOS-powered fourth-gen Apple TV.
Apple is presently selling refurbished versions of the third-gen Apple TV for $59, although supplies are limited and probably won’t last long.
It’s unclear if the third-gen Apple TV will receive any additional software updates, but the device was last updated in February with a variety of security fixes.
Stay tuned for additional details as they became available.
Via 9to5Mac