Forget Google Stadia, a new Nvidia Shield TV is incoming – and that’s awesome
A new Nvidia Shield TV is in the works, according to a fresh posting on the Google Play Developer Console.
The posting appeared over the weekend and was spotted by eagle eyed writers at Android Police. Details about the mysterious new device, which went under the hardware codename “mdarcy”, were thin on the ground.
But the new model was listed as running Android 9 Pie and running featured the same Tegra X1 SoC as the current Shield – though this is believed to be a placeholder listing, so the device could still run using the fabled X2 Nvidia’s been rumoured to be working on for donkey’s years.
Related: Nvidia Shield TV 2019
Personally we’d really hope the new Shield TV comes with upgraded hardware. The X1 is great, and runs the Nintendo Switch and current Shield TV fine. But 4K gaming, a key battleground at the moment, is beyond it.
The news follows the unveiling of Google Stadia. Stadia is a new game subscription service by Google that will launch in November. It aims to let people stream games in 4K at frame rates over 60fps over the cloud.
Either way we’re excited at the prospect of a new Shield TV. The current 2017 Nvidia Shield is one of our favourite entertainment boxes. It was one of the first to let you stream content in 4K and let you play triple A games over the internet in 1080p using Nvidia’s stellar GeForce Now service.
The listing follows a separate leak in March when XDA Developers spotted listing a new Nvidia Shield TV “friday” remote and “stormcaster” controller. Hardware details weren’t included in the leak.
Related: Google Stadia vs Project xCloud
Nvidia is also expected to upgrade its GeForce Now service to help developers take advantage of 5G. 5G is a next generation networking technology that just launched in select parts of the UK including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
It aims to offer users gigabit per second connection speeds that will let them stream triple-A games over the network. We saw a demo of a laptop streaming Shadow of the Tomb Raider in at over 60fps over 5G at MWC in March.
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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.