Apple TV 4th generation release and gaming expectations

Even before Apple announced the iPhone 5C and 5S last year we had assumed that they would announce one or two other devices, with one of them being the 4th generation Apple TV, but that never happened. Then it was on to the iPad Air event, and again the 4th-gen device was a no show.

However, there is a good chance that Apple will update the Apple TV soon, and this 2014 version looks set to be the best yet, although that’s stating the obvious.

Let us get one thing straight, if iLounge is correct then this new version will still be a set-top box rather than a fully-fledged TV set that we have been waiting on for the past couple of years or so.

We are being told that the Apple TV update will have a new version of iOS, which makes us wonder if it will be out anytime soon, as we know that iOS 8 will not be released until September, although a revamped version of iOS 7 could be used if Apple decide to release the fourth generation Apple TV a little earlier in the year.

There is good reason to believe that the Apple TV 4th generation will have a greater focus on gaming with a dedicated App Store for games, which could be called Game Store.

We don’t expect they will bring a Kinect-like device to the new Apple TV, but news that Apple is allowing more developers to build apps for their set-top box is a good move if they want to channel the focus of gaming for 2014 onwards.

Having said that, Apple still only allow for XML templates with its SDK, which does make things a little hard for devs, although if reports are correct then Apple may have changed its policy.