tvOS beta points to possible 120Hz support for new Apple TV

Apple may release a new Apple TV set-top box with support for a 120Hz refresh rate. Evidence for this has been found in the beta of tvOS 14.5. There have been rumors for some time about the arrival of a new model with HDMI 2.1.

There are several times “120Hz” and “supports120Hz” in the source code of the tvOS 14.5 beta. According to 9to5mac, the references can be seen at PineBoard, which is the internal name of the system that controls the Apple TV interface.

Current Apple TV set-top boxes don’t support 120Hz, so Apple will have to release a new model when that feature comes along. An HDMI 2.1 connection is required to enable the high refresh rate in combination with a 4k resolution.

The high refresh rate can be used to smoothly display the interface and apps and for games. Apple has been using screens with a refresh rate of 120Hz in its iPad Pro since 2017. Apple uses the marketing term ProMotion for this. There are already iOS games that take advantage of that, including Fortnite, GRID Autosport, and Journey.

To be able to play games with support for frame rates of 120 fps, the set-top box will have to contain a powerful soc. There have been rumors about the arrival of a new Apple TV for some time now. At the end of last year, Bloomberg wrote that in 2021 a new model that is more focused on gaming and will get a new remote control.

Apple TV 4K from 2017