For a company that’s supposed to lead the way in tech innovation, Apple sure does play catch-up a lot. While the likes of Netflix, Google and Amazon forge ahead with 4K HDR movies, iTunes is still offering content in piddly 1080p.
However, that might finally be about to change with news the company is seemingly preparing to offer movies in 4K HDR.
One iTunes user has discovered the company has started to list certain moves as 4K HDR in his purchase history.
In a discussion on the MacRumors forums, Tomas Jackson explains how he discovered the 2016 movie Passengers is listed at the greater resolution and in high dynamic range (see below).
However, it appears Apple is still in the early stages of testing as Jackson was only able to download the movie at 720p or 1080p HD.
The snippet comes amid rumours Apple is preparing an Apple TV 4K model for later this year.
A 4K HDR content launch through iTunes is likely to coincide with the release of that model and give Apple a shot at competing with Amazon’s Fire TV and other new-gen set-top boxes.
Related: What is 4K HDR?
The current 4th-generation Apple TV has proved somewhat of a disappointment, since it was released in October 2015.
Not only is it missing the 4K compatibility, but the Siri interaction is sub-par, the tvOS App Store has failed to develop sufficiently, and the new TV app that aims to bind on-demand services together still feels incomplete.
Really, things can only get better. Starting with 4K HDR iTunes movies of course.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
