A lot has changed within Apple over the past ten years, but one of the most notable differences is how virtually everything about their upcoming conferences is slowly leaked out in advance. I guess this is a consequence of both their monolithic stature in the technology sector and world at large, as well as an ironic after-effect of how devices such as the iPhone have opened up how connected and informed the general public is in the present day. Anyway, you’ve likely read an abundance of speculative posts over the past few days, but one in particular has piqued the interest of the iOS gamer within. On the eve of Apple’s big iPhone 8 reveal event tomorrow, analysis of firmware files has suggested a 4K Apple TV with the same internals as the recent iPad Pro models is set to debut soon, in a direct attempt to compete with the likes of the Nintendo Switch.
While the Apple TV was a great concept, the lack of developer support and slightly underwhelming specifications means the company’s vision of the device challenging the big boys in the console gaming market did not become a reality. However, if the rumors of the A10X Fusion chip alongside 3GB of RAM are true, the Apple TV will be capable of running the most demanding iOS titles with ease. There currently are not any games that truly pushes the new iPad Pro tablets to their limits, and so in terms of both current capabilities and future proofing, an Apple TV with such capable innards would be a huge step in the right direction. If Apple can capitalise on the synergy and ease of use that the Switch has underlined so well with its handheld/console hybrid design through utilising the capabilities this new powerful Apple TV could emulate, the initial lofty dreams of the device staking a claim in the console market could draw ever closer.
AppleTV6,2, or 'Apple TV 4K' as it's officially called, has a three-core A10 Fusion CPU and 3GB RAM
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 11, 2017
Of course, these are just rumors, and the A10X Fusion chip may just be to facilitate the 4K video playback features that the latest Apple TV will need to function effectively with the latest range of iPhones. There is also the requirement for far more substantial support for the Apple TV, irrespective of however menacing the specs may be – it’s impossible to gauge from firmware files whether Apple will put more effort into this direction, but with iOS 11 promising to shake up the very fabric of the App Store (for better or for worse), the future of iOS gaming could be even brighter. Be sure to keep an eye on TouchArcade tomorrow for breaking Apple hardware news, and for more introspective looks into how the upcoming devices could have an impact on mobile gaming as we know it.
[via @stroughtonsmith]
