New Apple TV Specs: 256MB RAM, 8GB Storage, A4 CPU

Apple told everyone that the new Apple TV had an A4 chip, HDMI out with 720p support, WiFI, etc, but what everyone wanted to know was what the actual device hardware specs were… how much RAM does it have, how much local storage, does it run iOS?

Now we know, here are the Apple TV 2010 hardware specs:

• A4 Processor – identical to the CPU in the iPad and iPod Touch 4G
• 256MB RAM – again the same as the iPad and 4th gen iPod touch
• 8GB Flash Storage – similar to NAND module found in the iPad and iPod touch
• Runs iOS – the Apple TV is running a modified version of iOS 4.1
• 802.11n Wi-Fi + Ethernet
• HDMI output
• Optical audio
• Mini-USB port – potential for external storage options, syncing to your Mac, and more
• Infrared receiver for remote control

The new Apple TV is also really small, coming in slightly less than 4″x4″ and less than an inch high. You can see specifics about the dimensions and video and audio formats on Apple’s official specs page.

The new Apple TV is looking better and better for $99. The RAM and flash storage capacity were discovered by iFixIt during their teardown of the device, and indicate that the device is just as powerful as an iPad and iPod touch 4G, although slightly weaker than the iPhone 4 due to a slightly different A4 chip and half the RAM (iPhone 4 has 512MB RAM).

Since the new Apple TV runs iOS it means a Apple TV Jailbreak is just around the corner… 8GB of storage is enough room to store a fair amount of apps and still cache video and media through the AirPlay streaming service.

I am very excited to see where the Apple TV takes us!