Apple is constantly developing new things, and it doesn’t usually like to tell the world about them until they’re ready for launch. But sometimes a few clues make their way through the cracks, hinting at upcoming features and services.
The latest nugget to drop onto the grapevine is the so-called “SportsKit,” discovered in the source code of an upcoming iOS update by crafty developers. The inclusion of SportsKit references in the iOS betas likely means it’s something being tested for release in the not-too-distant future.
These software “kits” are frameworks built into iOS that allow Apple (and other developers) to tap into powerful features. Nearly all the Augmented Reality games you see on the App Store rely on Apple’s ARKit, while health and fitness apps usually utilize HealthKit, and so on. So what exactly would SportsKit do for iPhone and iPad users?
Apple is known to be interested in moving into the sports space, as it looks to expand its services beyond Apple Music, TV+, News+, etc. We expect SportsKit will enable Apple devices to keep track of real-time sporting events in a much more detailed and expansive way than the basic info you can currently get by asking Siri about a sports match.
That will likely mean built-in Home Screen widgets with live score updates at the very least, but Apple is also rumored to be exploring the possibility of adding live sports to Apple TV+. If it decides to go all-in and buy the rights to a bunch of sports tournaments, we could be hearing a lot more about SportsKit before long.
Although the feature is most likely still in early development, the fact that Apple has recently hired the former top dogs from ESPN and Amazon Prime Video Sports is a clear indication of the direction it’s hoping to move.
The only real question left is whether or not Apple will include this coverage as part of its existing bundles, or if Apple Sports+ will become a service of its own in the coming years.