KEY FINDINGS
• The newest Apple TV doesn’t tower over its predecessor this time around, but we did notice a couple of key differences in the design. The bottom panel has been redesigned for what looks like some serious thermal venting. Bye-bye, USB-C port. We take a familiar access route through the underside of the Apple TV 4K. Just like with its single-K sibling, the Apple TV 4K features repair-friendly plastic clips that secure its bottom panel. No moat of glue or uncommon screws? This upgraded unit gets a 1 Up as a reward. • Peeling back the rear panel reveals a beefy fan secured by some T7 Torx screws. After pulling them out, we meet Apple TV’s biggest fan! It looks as though Apple merged the new fan with the heatsink/EMI shield assembly from the Apple TV 4th Generation, combining them to form one whopper of a cooling solution. This Voltron of a thermal assembly suggests that 4K HDR capability comes with a significant increase in thermal output. With a twist of a few more Torx screws, the assembly is disassembled, revealing a replaceable fan driven by a Nidec brushless motor. • We’re pleased to see that Apple keeps with the tradition of easily removable logic boards for the Apple TV 4K. We don’t run into any surprises here; the heatsink remains much the same as its predecessor from 2015. We take a moment to pluck a familiar pair of presumed power posts from the body of the heatsink. During our Apple TV 4th Generation teardown, we suspected that power was transmitted to the logic board via the heatsink screw posts. It looks as though this is still the case with the Apple TV 4K. With the heatsink and posts out of the way, the only thing left to do is remove the power supply board. • The new power supply is rated for 12V at 1.083A. This is just a modest bump up from the 0.917A power supply we saw in the Apple TV 4th Generation. Again taking a design lead from its older sibling, the Apple TV 4K eschews internal wiring between the power supply and logic board. The use of conductive posts in lieu of wiring probably saves internal real estate, and it eliminates the possibility of pinched or bent wires during assembly. • Repairability Score: 8 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair). Plastic clips hold the case together for easy opening. Modular components make for easy disassembly and repair. The power supply is modular, and features a removable AC-in jack. Standard Torx screws hold everything together. All major components are soldered to the logic board, meaning fixing any port problems will require board-level soldering or a full board replacement.