A mysterious Apple TV device has been found in developer logs from a prominent games-maker lending further weight to previous reports that Apple is working on a more powerful Apple TV box capable of 4K streaming.
The discovery comes via MacRumors, which spoke to the games developer Firi Games. The logs for their game Phoenix HD on the Apple TV saw a single device with the identifier “AppleTV6,2” running “tvOS 11.0.”
The Apple TV currently runs 10.1.1 and the latest model’s identifier is AppleTV5,3. Furthermore, the report notes that the IP address “falls within a range linked to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.”
So, is this the rumored Apple TV fifth-generation? the sources here can’t be verified, and may not be completely reliable, but it’s intriguing to muse over Apple’s testing process and what it reveals about what it may or may not be working on.
Of course, the new information doesn’t specifically point towards 4K, the crisper picture technology is very much on the cusp of the mainstream, and was even noted for its absence in the Apple TV fourth-generation box which was released at the end of 2015. It’s practically a given that the next-gen Apple TV will have 4K compatibility, especially due to Apple’s TV and picture ambitions elsewhere.
Recent reports suggest Apple is on the verge of a “transformative acquisition” in Hollywood, while the iPhone-maker also recently poached an Amazon Fire exec to run its Apple TV business.