Apple Unveils Metal, Brings True Console-Quality Graphics To iOS 8

Apple revealed new graphics technology for iPhone and iPad today called Metal, which makes more efficient use of the processing power of the mobile devices.

Announced during WWDC, Apple showed that EA, Epic Games, Crytek and Unity have been working with Metal, with Epic founder Tim Sweeney showing an Unreal 4 tech demo on stage. The Zen Garden demo will be free when iOS 8 launches.

[Christopher]

True Console-Quality Graphics? They've been doing that since day one. The question is which console are they comparing it to?

[Abriael]

The problem is that it's easy to bring up that kind of graphics in demos.

In actual games? Not a single chance.

[jazmac]

@ExPresident let me correct that for you...

Best example is that FPS games absolutely suck on mobile devices and consoles. I don't care who you are. You will never be as good on touch controls/using a controller as a person with a keyboard and mouse. I have an iPad/console and have tried to really get into them and I can't. Its not the same. You need a keyboard and mouse.

@Psyxon

Yes, in fact it does suck. The controls suck for certain types of games. If you enjoy FPS games with touch controls and controllers, then sure, thats fine, you enjoy it, but it doesn't mean the controls don't suck for that game type.

you're welcome = )

[HugoDrax]

Um....Infinity Blade looks damn good! That game looked EPIC for a game on a mobile device. Especially when it released for a phone in 2010, and is now available in arcade format at Dave and Busters.

Funny how people discredit mobile games, yet they seem to be the one games that can land on every gaming device. Angry Birds, Infinity Blade, and Fruit Ninja all launched on the iPhone, then eventually landed in arcades and on consoles..

[Ghoul]

Hugo

although infinity blade looked nice it was a staged rails game, its a very impressive achievement but far away form a full realtime environment, since you were completely limited to certain actions and views

the demo was made focusing on one effect at a time by selecting "demo" areas inside the stage

i dont wanna discredit anything just shed some light on the demo, if they showed a fully freeroam stage with dynmaic lights and shaders i would have been way mroe impressed.

[IceKoldKilla]

@jazmac -_- Troll. The reality is any well constructed physical controls (analog and digital) are obviously better since you can controll the slightest move. That includes controllers and keyboard & mouse. Having a finger on a touch screen is totally different and therefor makes it hard to control slight movements for example in FPS or even driving games sometimes. Not to mention your finger is ON the screen meaning in many games you cover up shit you'd want to see. You wanna see the whole screen. Imagine playing a FPS on PC and someone covering a corner or side of your monitor with a hand/finger. I don't like it.

[edqe]

@IceKoldKilla: How about attaching mobile phone to TV and using keyboard + mouse?

Mobile devices has already great games like Baldur's Gate series and King of Dragon Pass.

[styferion]

the real question is are developers willing to make the effort to use it to full potential, seeing the most profitable games on mobile are casual games with simple graphic and heavy microtransactions.

[IceKoldKilla]

Exactly! You can have the most powerful console on earth and for years to come but if devs don't use its full potential then it's basically useless.

[3-4-5]

Console Quality finger swiping With cool "new" touch screen MORSE CODE tapping feature...yay wow. /s

[XiSasukeUchiha]

Metal FTW

[Starbucks_Fan]

I wonder how many times you've been marked for Bad Language LOL

[The_KELRaTH]

Too many discard the tablets gaming potential based on whats available today.
As has been mentioned there are a number of factors missing that make for a poor gaming format but none of them can't be addressed.
3D GPU API and proper controller, mouse/trackball support would be a big step forward as the tablet could end up as both a games console that connects to the TV etc as well a portable games device like Vita but all in one.

[Starbucks_Fan]

Angry Birds in 1080p with 60 FPS confirmed

[ziggurcat]

no, no... half life 3 confirmed.

[Ghost_Nappa]

Zero damns given confirmed!

[IceKoldKilla]

Flappy Bird in 4K 3D confirmed

[Codey47]

Flappy Bird in 4K 3D Pulled from store within a week confirmed.

[jazmac]

I was only making an amusing point in that the difference between touch screen and controller is like the difference between controller and mouse/keyboard. I'm not disputing that the controller is better than a touch screen for FPS.

[gamerfan0909]

If there's one company that can pull off what Microsoft did back in the early 2000's and join and succeed in the gaming race it's Apple. They have the money, developer connections, and software and hardware knowledge to be big players. I think if they really wanted to they could make a portable gaming system that could compete with the 3DS and Vita right away.

[WeAreLegion]

I'm not sure. I think Google has a better chance, honestly.

[gamerfan0909]

Google doesn't have the dev pull that Apple has. Apple has the ability to get third party devs pronto. Google does not.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

last year, the market on new devices went 80% android, and iOS is being left in the dust.

[rocketpanda]

@gamerfan,

Of course Google can, it is called money and they have a lot of it. They just are not bothering with mobile gaming as much.

[Athonline]

@ThatOneGuyThere

And yet iOS gets exclusivity/ earlier releases of high profile apps.
Devs develop on what they got first and what it will sell more.

As a general rule App developers say: iOS is a pain to develop-on, but the most profitable. Windows Phone is the easiest to develop on (C# and VS :D) but the worst in terms of profits.
Android offers a bit of both, but you have to go with a different business model. That is why iOS apps that are paid-to-get, are free with ads in Android.

[elninels]

They have several, they call them ipod touch, iphone, and iPad. They can also make calls.

[chaosx]

The way technology is moving with Mobile devices , it won't be long before they do have the power to out perform a PS4 or XB1 , connectivity will be wireless to the TV and you will sync a DS4 via bluetooth . When Indie developers realise there games can be ported to the app store and have a 800 million device install base they won't think twice.

[kneon]

By the time we have enough mobile devices that out power the current gen consoles we will be getting the ps5 and xb1.

Any advancements in mobile graphics will also benefit console graphics. But as consoles don't have the same kind of power and heat restrictions you can always get more performance out of a console than a mobile device and at a lower cost.

Some day it won't matter because there will be far more power than they need, but we're decades away from that.

[psyxon]

Hahahahahahahahaha. Oh, my sides!

[T2]

Ahahaha! I know they can barely get gta vice city right, let alone a gta5 or even infamous lol... Mobile can have Farmville in 1080p

[Summons75]

To bad Apple battery life is awful WITHOUT using a lot of apps. Phones will never be as good as REAL consoles and handhelds.

[HugoDrax]

"To bad Apple battery life is awful WITHOUT using a lot of apps"

The iPhones battery life isn't awful, it's not great but it's not awful. The iPad battery life is amazing! Want to talk about an awful battery life? speak on the VITA 1000, and Dual Shock 4 controllers. Now that's awful battery life. Either that, or my controller is defective lol.

[T2]

Ds4 lasts solid 6 hours straight... Iphone dies in like 2 hours playing any intense games

[purp13m0nk3y]

My DS4 lasts far longer than most of my gaming sessions. 5-6hrs out a charge is awesome IMO. Considering how light and comfortable the controller is.

Also my xperia Z2 last 48hr+ between charges for light/moderate use and I can game (if you can really call it that) for 10hrs+ on a single charge.

Apple battery life is woeful for a modern mobile phone.

[Spotie]

Considering how many 8+hour gaming sessions I've had on my Vita without plugging it in, I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say you've never actually done it.

The same is, apparently, true of the DS4.

Usually, it helps to know what you're talking about BEFORE you start talking about it. Making crap up only gets you so far.

[HugoDrax]

@Spotie

Ummm I actually have done it. I've had my PS4 since launch, shit I even got my PS1 at launch. As far as my VITA1000/Crystal White is concerned, I've only had it for the past 2 months. So far I've Platinumed TEARAWAY, and 100% Thomas Was Alone, and 100% Stick It To the Man remote play on my PS4. I don't have to make anything up. I've had a full charge on my DS4, played Second Son and around 5hrs my (battery is low) notification popped up.

Now compared to my XB1 controllers, they last for weeks on a full charge. I'm using Duracell Rechargeable PreCharged HR6/NiMH 2400 mAh batteries. In comparison to whatever battery Sony decided to place inside the DS4, these Duracell batteries trump those.

[The_KELRaTH]

If it's being used a games console with display on the TV then it wouldn't need to rely on battery power as it could be connected to a USB port.

[its_JEFF]

Looks Great... but, I don't know why they always focus on "console quality" graphics for these iOS games. The most popular games on iOS/Android are the simplest graphically.

I game on my mobile device almost everyday cause of convenience... I game on my console less, but I prefer it over any mobile game. There is just no substitute for a controller.

I think home gaming that can then be taken to mobile is the future of gaming. Nintendo seems to have started moving in that direction with the Wii U gamepad. Sony seems to be going in that direction with PlaystationNOW. I'm just waiting for MS to show us their hand.

[elninels]

When will we get improved processing power from the cloud?

I happen to believe it was going to be a part of Microsoft's original always online plan, which we killed. If sony is saying that they can stream the last of us to smart TVs then (heads up im throwing around conjectures now) why can't they use that power in tandem with the inherent power in a ps4 and provide improved graphics, physics, blah?

Isn't this why some say this is may be the last generation of new consoles?

If im wrong somebody tell me because I have very little knowledge in the area.

[its_JEFF]

from what's been said about "cloud", it seems that most believe that our current internet speeds can't currently provide enough speed to make significant gains in, what most people seem to be concerned with, graphical quality.

Supposedly it can help with physics, but the dev's just haven't had enough time to work with it is my guess. Microsoft's real plan was to create it's own version of Steam. But, like Steam, there was backlash. It took years for Steam to get to where they are now. MS just went about it the wrong way or at least not the most "friendliest" of ways.

[AndrewLB]

The reason why they're showing console quality graphics in these tech demos is because Next-Gen console quality graphics on a tablet are already here. Ever heard of nVidia's Tegra K1?

http://youtu.be/EBxFDDK_Oxo

It's clearly more powerful than a PS3, and is only slightly slower than Xbox One. lol.

[SpiralTear]

Why do these guys think that making "console-quality" games for handheld hardware is smart? It's not. The most popular and well-received games on handhelds were not "console-quality." They had their own short, bite-sized, digestible appeal. Tetris was built for handhelds. RPG's are built for handhelds. Short, simple, and easy to play in brief bursts.

That's why Nintendo hasn't been touched in handhelds since the Game Boy; they build their games around brief doses of fun instead of trying to cram a huge console game into a smaller-screened device.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Apple TV VS Amazon Fire TV VS Google TV

Console wars of the near future.

People don't think this will hurt the traditional console market, but it will. These systems have the power to erode said market. There will be parents who will buy just one of these media boxes for their family. When their kids ask for a video game console they'll say "you can play games on the "Apple/Amazon/Google TV box."

These systems don't need the same raw power of the Xbox One or the PS4. Good enough is good enough for most people.

I don't mean to sound like the harbinger of doom but this future is happening now. Be ready for a sea change.

[kingPoS]

What's worse, neither of them can read discs. I've come to enjoy a console that does double or even triple duty.

Games
TV Video
Music

Games: Disc or PSN based, it's got them!
TV: Torne Nanase DVR. Video: Bluray DVD, mp4, avi & more.
Music: DSD discs, CD's AAC, atrac, mp3, wma...

I my mind the PS3 holds that crown (In japan at lest)

Gateway MT6706 2008

[LightDiego]

Another victory for Apple, looks like IOS it's the future of gaming. You don't need to believe me, just check the numbers.

[FlyingFoxy]

They can get some decent graphics no doubt, they can't have the best because when i saw the last Unreal tech demo on it (on YouTube) the framerate looked pretty ass.

Not going into the no physical controls on Ipads & tablets either..

[Th3o]

It does honestly look good, but tech demos are a dime a dozen...we saw MGS 4 tech demo on Vita and Lost planet, yet never saw any game from either demos come out...

I'll wait a see.

[windblowsagain]

Oh look unreal4 demo for ios.

Selling the unreal4 engine is all that's for. I'm not knocking it.

But if you play Mobile phone games for graphics, your playing the wrong games.

[multiplatgamer]

I wish tablet and smart phone gaming would just go away.....

[Austacker]

Because graphics are the most important consideration in game design, right?

pfft.

[mochachino]

Possible beginning of the end. Truth be told, I don't care which device provides my games, where ever the 3rd party major titles are that's where I'll be gaming. Without dev support it's useless to me.

I'd actually love for tablets to have the same games as consoles and PC with controller and HDMI support. I could buy an amazing gaming device that doubles as a portable for $600. A complete all in one device.

[Waffles11]

Apple's idea of gaming on phones/tablets = this.

Actual concept of gaming by people who only game on phones/ tablets = photobombing random chick's with your junk out, playing mindless paywall games, or taking selfies of yourself taking a dump.

[lemoncake]

Will improve my crapping experience considerably, long gone are the days of reading the shampoo and t paper packaging while taking a dump to pass the time.

[mysteryraz11]

lol mobile devices cant match consoles especially not the ps4 or xbox one, they dont have sufficent resources or power to handle them, the new consoles are using 4gbs and more for games, that would fry a tablet or smartphone

[lemoncake]

The biggest thing though is that while the x1 and ps4 are stuck with todays technology, mobile devices advance every year or sometimes twice a year with new products. In 7 years time as the x1 and ps4 reach the end of their cycle I wouldn't be surprised if they have been surpassed by mobile devices.

[mysteryraz11]

Smartphones and tablets battery power is to weak for them to surpass consoles in power, they dont have suffecent ram to run games like consoles, they unlike consoles arent all the same strength so its much harder

[Agent_hitman]

Yeah the graphics are good but how bout the battery life??

[JakeTyler93]

The question is why do people still trust Apple? They're business and manufacturing practices are incredibly immoral.

[Milesprowers]

Ipoo

[CEOSteveBallmer]

1. How about battery life with "continuous playing"?
2. How about touch control? (even with moga it still not dedicated)
3. how about 3rd party support and big title games? (you think EA, activision, capcom etc. would create a $50-100M worth of game on a mobile device like COD, battlefield)?
4. playing on a 10 inch screen is better than playing in a big 42 inch screen right??....
5. mobile phones improves with graphics right and the consoles and PCs just stays stagnant right??....

[kingPoS]

They're called mobiles and tablets for a reason, they're not meant to have same experience as consoles.

Accessories & features I take for granted on consoles

Grounded power supply
DTS & Dolby surround
Full sized HDMI ports
Can play an assortment of media discs.
A Controller with tactile feedback & actual buttons.

Accessories & features that grate me about phones and tablets.

Overheating
Flimsy non grounded usb cables.
Overcharging
Cracked screens
Dead batteries

Gateway MT6706 2008