AFTERPAD

Apple Announces New Apple TV with Native Gaming

They finally did it: Apple just announced the brand new Apple TV!

I'll be digging deep into the new Apple TV shortly, uncovering as many game-related details as I can find. But for now, here's what we know.

The primary interface of the Apple TV is a touchpad with a gyroscope. Think a hybrid between the Wiimote and a laptop trackpad. I wasn't expecting this. This doesn't allow iOS games to easily port to Apple TV, but instead opens up a completely new interaction metaphor. Expect new games incorporating motion swiping, much more akin to the Wii than to traditional iOS games.

Game controllers are supported by the new Apple TV, exactly as expected. They will continue to be optional, and Apple isn't making one of their own. Still, the nature of the TV interface suggests that controllers will be MUCH more popular with TV gamers than with iOS gamers. Expect a lot of cross-platform Apple TV and iOS games to gain support for game controllers.

The Apple TV App Store will indicate which games support controllers and which games don't, which is long overdue. With any luck, this will be coming to iOS before too long – it would make my job a lot easier!

The New Apple TV is powered by an A8 chip, at the low end of what I was expecting, rather than the A9 chips in the new iPhone and iPad Pro models. Performance-wise, it should run every game you throw at it exactly as well as the iPhone 6 Plus does, as both render a 1920×1080 picture. Everything we know and love from the existing A8-powered devices should work with the Apple TV, including Metal, and the array of games it powers.

Pricing starts at $149 for a 32 gigabyte model and $199 for a 64 gigabyte model. Depending on how well developers optimize their games for new technologies like iCloud and App Thinning, the 32 model may very well be sufficient for the majority of gamers, at least until next year’s model.

I'll be buying one of these Apple TVs as soon as is humanly possible. Expect to see a LOT of coverage of this new device, and a lot of game reviews, right here on AfterPad!