Did an App Store Placeholder Hint at Apps for Apple TV?

An iOS App Store placeholder stating compatibility for the Prompt app says that the app will be compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and a mystery ‘ix.Mac.Marketing Name’ device that’s currently unknown, suggesting that the app may come to yet an unknown device that would run the iOS platform. It’s unclear what the ix.Mac device would be, but the leaked placeholder, which has since been removed, appears just several months ahead of Apple’s June Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, a venue that Apple had historically announced new versions of the iPhone in the past.

Given this year’s WWDC theme where Apple is said to be showcasing the ‘future of iOS and Mac OS X,’ it’s unclear whether an announcement for an iPhone would happen in the Summer; recent speculations posit that the next-generation iPhone–also dubbed in the media as the iPhone 5–may see a grand debut in the Fall alongside Apple’s iPod announcements.

It’s unclear what that mystery device may be–it could be an entirely new class of computing device or it could potentially hint at Apple’s plans to bring apps to the Apple TV platform. When Apple had last revised its Apple TV project, the company made the living room accessory run on the iOS platform, but did not give Apple TV compatibility with apps.

Having apps for Apple TV could be a huge potential for Apple as the company could leverage the streaming living room set-top box as a gaming device to take advantage of games that are already available on the iPhone or iPad. Many of the iOS game titles are for casual game play, but those titles are also cheaper than most games for rival living room consoles, such as Microsft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation.

Via: CNET