New version of Nvidia Shield TV with Android 9 seems on the way

The Google Play Developer Console Device Catalog contains references to a new version of the Nvidia Shield TV. The new model will receive Android 9 and, according to rumors, possibly also a renewed version of the Tegra X1 soc.

Nvidia Shield TV 2017

According to Android Police, the new Shield TV version is in Google’s overview codenamed mdarcy. The current model is under the name darcy in that same list. Judging by the listing, there are no differences except for the Android version in terms of specifications. The new model runs on Android 9, while the old version is still on Android 8.

The overview states that the new version has an Nvidia Tegra X1 soc just like the original, but according to XDA Developers it may be a new revision of that soc. The site has spoken with Tegra developers who speak of the t210b01, a refresh of the X1 soc with a higher GPU clock speed and lower consumption.

The Nvidia Shield TV first came out in 2015 and a new model with a smaller housing followed in 2017. Both versions use the Tegra X1 soc, which dates back to 2015 but is still relatively powerful thanks to the Maxwell GPU with 256 cudacores. A version of the soc is also used in the Nintendo Switch.