Samuel Axon
It has been well over three years since Apple updated the Apple TV 4K, and online speculation about a sequel hits a fever pitch every time Apple plans a product launch event. So far, a new device has not materialized, but the code in tvOS 14.5 beta may indicate not only that a new Apple TV is on the way, but that it will support 120 Hz 4K playback.
As first reported by 9to5Mac, the PineBoard of tvOS 14.5 (the operating system interface manager) contains references to the terms “supports 120 Hz” and “120 Hz”, a not-so-subtle indication that the operating system will support update rates of 120 Hz. And since the current Apple TV 4K has only one HDMI 2.0 port, which does not support 4K at 120 Hz (unlike the latest HDMI 2.1 standard), this discovery seems to suggest that new Apple TV hardware is also on the way.
Of course, only a few TVs today support 120 Hz refresh rates – typically the cutting-edge ones favored by players and manufactured in the past two years. Most TVs still target 60 Hz. There is very little 120 Hz video content available today, although enthusiasts have speculated that the refresh rate could be a real advantage for sports content. However, the new video game consoles launched last year – PlayStation 5 by Sony and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S by Microsoft – support 120 Hz reproduction, which is preferred by some players for certain very fast and difficult or competitive games. As these consoles continue to sell, they may increase the demand for 120Hz TVs.
Apple could choose to add 120 Hz capacity to the future Apple TV hardware for three reasons: a more agile, future-proof interface for high frame rate video content that may come later and, of course, games.
The company has become more serious about games lately, after years of treating them as a secondary use case, at best, for its devices. She recently added dozens of reissued classics from the iPhone and iPad to the Apple Arcade, including microtransaction-based games that have been adapted to be microtransaction-free. Arcade has also secured relatively important exclusives, such as Fantasian, the first JRPG from the creator of Final Fantasy in several years – and possibly the last.
At the moment, Apple’s iPad Pro has a 120 Hz screen, but none of the company’s other products do. There have been rumors that Apple will bring 120 Hz to the iPhone line this year, however. And as for Apple TV 4K, a report by Bloomberg in December stated that a revamped Apple TV with a greater focus on games should be launched later this year.