What you need to know
- Reference to a new "Sportskit" framework has been discovered in the latest iOS developer betas.
- The framework appears to be a private one that Apple is developing for sports content.
- It could enable things like live score widgets on an iPhone home screen.
It looks like Apple is continuing to work slowly but surely into the sports arena.
According to a new report from 9to5Mac, code found in the latest developer betas of iOS 15 makes reference to an unannounced "Sportskit" framework.
The report notes that the framework is most likely in early development but, from what was seen, it would bring tighter integration between the iPhone (and probably iPad), Apple TV, and Siri when it came to sports coverage. It goes on to say that it could enable things like live score updates in a home screen widget.
Since the first beta of iOS 15.2 was released in late October for developers, 9to5Mac found references to something called "SportsKit" in the system's internal files. There aren't many details about this framework yet, as it's probably still under development, but we can tell that it's integrated with the Apple TV app, Siri, and even home screen widgets.The "SportsKit" home screen widget includes the ability to receive real-time updates of sports matches. Right now, Siri can already show sports scores, so Apple probably wants to expand this interaction to other parts of iOS and tvOS.
The outlet notes that the framework appears to be private so, as-built, 3rd party developers would most likely not be able to use it for their apps and Apple would instead be using it for its own content hosted through Apple TV and its Apple TV+ streaming service if it added more sports coverage in the future.
The company has been long-rumored to be making inroads with the sports community. The company recently held talks with Pac-12 and is reportedly attempting to acquire the streaming rights for NFL Sunday Ticket.
Bottom line: The price tag and marginal upgrades are a big ask for current 4K TV customers, but the new Apple TV 4K (2021) is an excellent bit of kit.
