4K Apple TV With HDR10 And Dolby Vision Confirmed In HomePod Firmware Leak

Apple “accidentally” posted HomePod test firmware last month that has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving to the Apple community. Developers have picked apart the firmware, which was supposed to be distributed only among Apple employees for internal use, to uncover secrets surrounding the HomePod AI smart speaker, iPhone 8 and even the Apple Watch Series 3.

This weekend, the HomePod firmware leak has shed light on yet another product in Cupertino’s pipeline: the next generation Apple TV. According to lines of code discovered by iOS developer Guilherme Rambo, the next generation Apple TV will support 4K resolution video, which would finally put Apple on par with its immediate competitors (i.e. Amazon Fire TV, Roku Ultra).

In addition, these two lines of code are included:

• kCADisplayModeDolby
• kCADisplayModeHDR10

These point to 10-bit HDR and Dolby Vision support for the unreleased device. Couple this new information with the leak from late July that showed 4K HDR movie listing in iTunes, and there is no doubt that 4K Apple TV is just around the corner.

Speaking of unreleased Apple products, we yesterday reported on the Apple Watch Series 3, which was detailed by Mark Gurman. Unlike the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2, which must be tethered to an iPhone internet connectivity, the Series 3 will have optional LTE support. According to Gurman, the LTE chip will be provided by Intel and will give the Apple Watch Series 3 full independence from the iPhone for all functions.

Confirmation of this LTE connectivity was found in — surprise, surprise — the HomePod firmware:

After the earlier Apple Watch LTE rumors, I took another look at the HomePod firmware and found this (Gizmo is the codename for Apple Watch) pic.twitter.com/F1sFFwv4Cr

— Jeffrey Grossman (@Jeffrey903) August 5, 2017

We don’t think that there has ever been a leak of this scope to come out of Apple with regards to unreleased products. Sure, there was the unreleased iPhone 4 prototype from seven years ago, but that was just one product. In the case of the HomePod firmware leak, we’re learning about multiple products, their features, and in the case of the iPhone 8, its overall design. The higher-ups at Apple can't be happy about their "magical" products being spoiled before launch.