Google announced Android TV years ago, but only a few device makers even attempted to make boxes running the software. Some, like Razer, saw their efforts fall flat. Nvidia has seen some success with its line of Shield Android TV boxes, and a new version may have just visited the FCC. The FCC docs call this mysterious piece of hardware the “NVIDIA Corporation SHIELD Android TV Game Console P3430.”
Nvidia has produced two revs of the Shield Android TV. The first one launched in 2015 with a remote and a game controller. In 2017, Nvidia launched a new version of the console with a smaller footprint and the option of purchasing without a game controller. Based on the limited data in the FCC filing, the new Shield doesn’t look like a radical change.
Both existing versions of the Shield run on the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip. That’s an eight-core ARM chip with four Cortex A57 cores and four Cortex A53 cores. You’ll notice those CPU designs are a few years old. Nvidia hasn’t made major changes to the Tegra X1, but it does still have an impressive custom Maxwell GPU. That’s probably why Nintendo chose it for the Nintendo Switch.
The regulatory label for the new Shield from the FCC docs.
According to the FCC filing, the new Shield will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which is not exactly a shock. There aren’t any images of the hardware, either. All we can really glean from the FCC report is that there’s a new Shield, and it’s probably coming soon. A 2019 launch would fit with the previous two-year update cycle, too.
The new Shield is rumored to have the Tegra X1 T214 processor. That’s the same variant Nintendo is using in the upcoming Switch Lite and the improved SKU of the classic Switch. It has the same configuration, but design improvements should make higher clock speeds and lower temperatures feasible.
While the Shield is an Android TV box, one of its primary reasons for being is to push Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming service. Nvidia has been trying to make this work for years, but it might be running out of time now that Google is on the verge of launching Stadia.
Now read:
[ad_2]