When Apple debuted the A8 processor that would be used in its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it appears the company decided to omit one big detail: the chip, according to a new discovery by the developers behind the app WALTR. Using that app, they found that it was possible to load 4K videos onto an iPhone 6. Not only that, but the device managed to play it back without any issues. Of course, there’s not much of a reason to actually load such high-res video onto an iOS device at this time. Neither iPhone 6 has a high enough resolution to actually display the full quality image, and the files are so huge that it would be impractical to keep them stored on the phone without any discernible quality increase.
According to a report on Friday, Apple’s latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models are able to play back 4K video thanks to the powerful A8 system-on-chip, suggesting a future Apple TV model equipped with the same silicon would offer support for ultra high definition programming. During testing of its media file conversion app WALTR, developer Softorino discovered Apple’s A8 processor can play back 4K videos on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, reports TUAW. At this point, the “hidden” capability can be viewed as more of a technical accomplishment than a useful feature, as Apple’s iPhone 6 models don’t have the pixel density to benefit from all that additional data. Branded as “Retina HD displays,” the panel 4.7-inch iPhone 6 panel boasts a resolution of 1,334-by-750 pixels, while the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus packs in 1,920-by-1,080 pixels good for full HD viewing. Since 4K provides 3,840-by-2,160 pixels of visual data, a lot of detail would be lost reproducing video on Apple’s current hardware. Still, the ability to play back 4K on iPhone is a nice feature to have as media slowly moves to ultra high resolution content. Perhaps more interesting are future A8 applications, specifically Apple TV. The company’s set-top box is overdue for revision and currently squeezes out 1080p video using Apple’s generations-old A5 SoC. With an A8 brain, along with proper signal processing and possibly onboard storage, it is feasible that Apple’s next-gen device could be a 4K content server.
