What They Say
9to5Mac reported that there are references to 120Hz frame rate support in the code for Apple’s tvOS 14.5 beta code, although the current Apple TV box would not have the hardware to support. The blog believes that this means that Apple is testing a 120Hz mode for further models. HDMI 2.1 support would be needed to implement it with UltraHD output.
In December 2020, the blog reported news from Bloomberg that suggested that Apple plans a new Apple TV hardware box as the latest version, the Apple TV 4K was launched in 2017.
What We Think
A few days ago, I was digging around about Roku and I spotted an article from last autumn on Toms Hardware from a writer that tried a Roku, but went back to using an Apple TV. It reminded me that once upon a time (in 2007) I was invited to Apple’s London HQ to see an Apple TV in operation when it was still very new. At the time, I commented on how good the user interface was. This is what I said. (Display Monitor Vol 14 #26)
“However, Apple’s solution is much more sophisticated and easy to use than anything else we have seen. We were very intrigued by Sony’s internet TV box (shown at CES) but the Apple offering seems at first glance to be in a different league altogether. If you are in the TV business, get on to the Apple store and buy one of these boxes. Now. You really need to see what Apple is doing”.
Some time later, Apple seemed to be about to enter the TV market, but the added value and margin structure of the panel-driven TV business never quite seemed to be right for Apple’s model. I had a presentation at the time “Ten reasons why Apple will Enter the TV Market, and Ten More why it won’t”.
The company did approach us once for data on the European TV market (we were researching and publishing it at the time). However, the firm seemed to think that it should get the data for free, as it had previously (before it lost interest in any volume of monitors) been a client for monitor data in Europe. I declined the opportunity to donate to Apple as it didn’t seem to be a charity, at which point I was told that “XYZ Researcher will give us data free”. I enjoyed responding with the classic answer to that comment “Clearly, they understand the value of their data!!
(BR)
