When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works

Home / News / Apple TV hack shows off iOS apps running at 720p

Apple TV hack shows off iOS apps running at 720p

We get a sneak peek into the future of iOS apps on the big screen

As many an Apple fanboy will know, 2012 is the year Apple takes over the world of TV, with the wildly speculated iTV. Seemingly bored with waiting (and the lack of a dedicated App Store) a couple of intrepid iOS developers have hacked the second-gen Apple TV to run iPhone and iPad apps at full 720p resolution. 

Spotted by MacRumours, the new hack – dubbed MobileX – is seen running on a jailbroken Apple TV in the video below, showing off apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Safari and Maps at 720p resolution. While you can currently stream or mirror stuff from your Mac or iToy through the magic of AirPlay, this clever hack is actually running the apps independently off the media streaming device. 

The hack works by replacing the springboard functionality for iPad, therefore allowing the apps to be displayed at full 720p resolution. The apps also appear to play nice with both a keyboard and Magic Trackpad, in case any of you were wondering how on earth applications can be controlled without touching the screen. 

The hack has yet to be fully released for public consumption and is still in the early stages, but its clever creators are hoping this will go some way to goading Apple into opening up a dedicated App Store for its Apple TV set-top box. Either way, this gives us an insight into the future of what Apple could achieve with its own-brand TV efforts. Exciting stuff.

You may also like

Apple announcement set for late January but it’s not iPad 3 shaped

Apple to unveil iTextbooks at January event?

Next Big Thing – Vending Machine 2.0

Profile image of Dan Grabham Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home