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Apple Working on Apple TV Models With A12 and A14 Chips, New Controller, and More
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Given the style of games in Arcade (very light, simple, indie games that work will on a 5" touch screen or with the apple remote) Arcade will continue to be niche compared to 'proper' consoles until Apple does a major philosophical transformation on how they see games.
I don't see Apple Arcade being a bargain at any price point. I consider myself a gamer, the cost of Apple arcade would be a tiny blip in what I spend on games in a year, the cost is nothing to me. Yet I cancelled my subscription after a couple of months. I used my Xbox controller with my Arcade sub, and I really tried, but there is nothing there to hold my interest. At this point, I wouldn't resubscribe if they made it free.
And for more casual gamers who like ftp and light apple arcade style games, they're not going to want to pay $60 a year.
I disagree here too. I absolutely loved gaming on my iPhone 4, but imo ftp and race to the bottom absolutely killed mobile gaming by the time of the iPhone 6. I'm sure there are a few decent games in the app store, but it is so filled with complete trash, it's nearly impossible to find anything worth trying anymore.
The final death knell for me was when I tried to get a racing game and after a lot of time looking for a game with controller support, I ended up with a gorgeous looking game where the entire gameplay was choosing if you go left or right at forks every 10 seconds or so. Seriously, wtf is that? who would even think that makes a playable game?
Several rumors have indicated that Apple is working on a refreshed Apple TV, and Fudge, a leaker who goes by @choco_bit on Twitter, today shared some new information on what we can expect.
In a tweet, Fudge claims that Apple is preparing multiple new Apple TV set-top boxes, with a model featuring a variant of the A12 chip and one with an "A14X-like" chip. Fudge also mentions that a new controller is in the works, but it is unclear if the tweet is referencing an updated Siri Remote or a new, Apple-designed game controller.
Fudge mentions that Apple is working with developers to bring console-level games to Apple Arcade as means of bolstering the gaming service. Notably, the tweet points out that some games would only be able to be run on the A13 Bionic chip or later, so an upgraded Apple TV would be necessary to access the new Apple Arcade additions.
Signs of a new Apple TV with an A12 bionic chip were uncovered in the iOS 13.4 beta in February. In addition to an updated processor and a "T1125" codename, previous rumors have indicated that the refreshed Apple TV may feature higher capacity 64 and 128GB storage options.
Leaker Jon Prosser had previously suggested the new Apple TV will be equipped with an A12X Bionic chip, while another rumor had indicated it will use an A14 chip, the same chip in the fourth-generation iPad Air that's expected in the 2020 iPhones.
Apple debuted its A14 Bionic chip alongside the redesigned iPad Air at its September "Time Flies" event, and new benchmarks indicate that the chip offers significant performance improvements over the previous A13 Bionic.
Article Link: Apple Working on Apple TV Models With A12 and A14 Chips, New Controller, and More
Except for gamers, this thing sounds like a complete snooze and a lame-ass attempt to rescue Apple Arcade from the doldrums. As for the new controller, I chucked it long ago and rely on my LG remote and I bet a whole lot of Apple TV owners use some third-party device (or the iOS version of the controller) so that's no big whoop either. There really needs to be some kind hook for The Rest Of Us. I don't imagine Apple is going to sell very many of these units.
So will the next Apple TV be able to run macOS?
I always thought the ultra-compact Apple TV form-factor is what the Mac Mini should (eventually) become. An almost pocketable Mac.
I always thought the ultra-compact Apple TV form-factor is what the Mac Mini should (eventually) become. An almost pocketable Mac.
Apple, if you want to compete with game consoles, include a controller with every Apple TV sold. A separately purchased controller will guarantee that Apple TV will never be popular in gaming.
It's no wonder Apple have difficulty understanding this when so many out there also seem to not grasp these concepts. It is you that are wrong, and continued posts on the matter from folk (who politely) put have no clue only serve to confuse the matters.
1) That link isn't exactly a "standard".
2) You did read the words "tends to" and "usually" in the relevant sections, right?!
3) The integer (24.00 / 30 / 60) and non-integer (23.976, 29.97, 59.94) rates are ALL OVER the HDMI and video standards and content standards. Can't share them though as they are not public documents.
4) There is even at least one department at Apple that does understand the difference and have published their specification publicly. See here:
HLS authoring specifications :
But I guess Apple are listing them because they're not standards, right?!
Perhaps you could consider a bit more thorough research in future before posting so affirmatively in the negative.
Please no. The AppleTV lasts 5 years easily and upgrading that every 5 years at $180 versus a TV at say $700+ because the SmartTV features require you to is something I will never do.
I'm sick of the whimsical, emotional, indie garbage being spewed out by Apple. A lot of these indie developers have been a plague on video games.
I've tried to find something to play recently for my iphone Max or Ipad and there is nothing. I'm willing to pay but everything is so average or samey. I prefer old school gaming and I think that's my problem.
But, like you say, if Apple are to release this as a console type system, they are going to have to totally rethink the types of games they offer. Up until now they have been total sh*te.
As long as they have an AirTag like feature built into the remote - I'm keen.
I imagine it will need more storage and more ram for gaming. They are about to release os11 on arm. It would make the perfect mini desktop, IMO.
It's past time that they took it more seriously. My experience with the 4th generation made me see the promise of the device but it was hopelessly under-powered, and for the price, a bad value, even for Apple.
And I just bought an Apple TV, fortunately, I don't use it for games and I don't have Apple Arcade so it shouldn't make a difference I guess.
Good point and you can already use an Xbox/PS4 controller with macs so should not be a hard task
Yeah I’m not saying a pocket PC is ever going to be an all-around performer, but for many things it would be great. Look what the iPhone and iPad can do.
RAM would indeed be the issue, but if the storage is fast then that could help.
My Wife’s preferred controller on the AppleTV for standard use (not just for games) is the Xbox controller.
I totally disagree. It's Apple TV, not Apple Gaming Box. They should offer a lower price device ($79-$99, competitive with Roku, Fire, etc.) for people interested in streaming only, and a souped up gaming version (which could be bundled with a game controller). Including a controller with every Apple TV sold would make the product unaffordable for those who don't care about gaming.
With apps and app stores being built into most new TVs, if they want to keep selling these things long-term they should be looking for a new way to position the Apple TV box. (to be clear, i much prefer using Apple TV instead of the apps in my recent LG set, for lots of reasons, and I prefer an external box. But many people don’t care, and will just use what’s in the TV)
I also prefer an external box. I have a recent Samsung SmartTV that works OK, but it's very slow to switch from one app to the other and the UI isn't always intuitive. I recently bought a ROKU Premiere ($39) for another TV. It does everything I need much better than Samsung (except for the lack of an ethernet port). Apple needs a product that competes with it to keep users in its ecosystem. Otherwise, people like me will stick with the cheaper alternatives.
I have no objection to Apple offering a more powerful model with a game controller for users who want to play games. They just shouldn't take the entire product line in that direction.
For TV, I too would prefer an external box, but I can’t see me buying a new AppleTV when the AppleTV+ app and the YouTube app work “okay” on my Samsung TV. I can’t see Apple taking serious gaming seriously enough to compete with the consoles. I suspect they anticipated indie game devs would make some touch/swipe games that worked with the aTV remote, but it didn’t happen. tvOS is not iOS so they kind of hamstrung themselves if I’m honest.
I admit I was (a little) mistaken. I wasn't aware the integer framerates were mainstream in broadcast, etc. My focus on the topic has been with NTSC. Anyway, circling back to your original gripe, the 29.97 is 30, 23.97 is 24, etc mentality could be part of the problem -- that is unless your research has turned up a document from Apple claiming the Apple TV doesn't support 24.00 fps. In other words, even those a part of distributing AV content are somewhat lacks on following the specifics. My point is, your problem still could be someone other than Apple not abiding by the standards.
Anywho... I digress as we shouldn't further stray from the article subject.
If they make the remote any thinner I will lose it if I turn it sideways.
Seriously the Apple TV is long overdue for an update. Many games really struggle running on 4K TVs which is what many people are now doing. The Apple TV is a cool gaming console once you add a real controller but it does struggle on the performance side. The Apple TV really needs to start using the more cutting edge GPUs since it will be driving higher resolutions than mobile devices.
Seriously the Apple TV is long overdue for an update. Many games really struggle running on 4K TVs which is what many people are now doing. The Apple TV is a cool gaming console once you add a real controller but it does struggle on the performance side. The Apple TV really needs to start using the more cutting edge GPUs since it will be driving higher resolutions than mobile devices.