One thing you can say about Apple is that they know how to create a buzz. There are few companies who can hold an entire keynote that makes the web nearly grind to a halt just to reveal a relatively mediocre new revision of a product. Many people, even Apple diehards, are kind of scratching their heads, torn between major disappointment that the iPhone 5 wasn’t announced and excitement over Siri and the new, updated camera that the 4S boasts.
PowerVR SGX Series 5 block diagram
Something that’s conspicuously absent from all of these discussions, especially to techies like us, is talk of the PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU that’s in the 4S. This chip is a mobile graphics powerhouse (see Icrontic’s coverage of Imagination Technologies and PowerVR at SIGGRAPH 2011), and it’s a sort of curious addition to the device that reveals a bit about the direction Apple is taking the iPhone and opens the table to some discussions about mobile gaming.
Let’s start with the facts: The PowerVR SGX543MP2 is probably the most advanced mobile GPU on the market right now. Making its debut in the iPad 2, it shows impressive performance numbers that pretty much blow other mobile GPUs out of the water. To put it another way: Sony has chosen a quad-core version of this very chip to power their upcoming PlayStation Vita (read Icrontic’s hands-on with the Vita from E3 2011). The only difference is that the Apple version is dual core. This is serious mobile graphics power.
So, why would Apple stick this powerhouse in a phone with a tiny (by today’s standards) screen and a last-generation resolution? As one Icrontian said: “If you had an AMD HD6990 and only a 3.5″ screen would you care?” The iPhone 4S runs a 3.5″ screen at a mediocre 960×640 resolution. Why does it need this much power?
Well, a lot of it has to do with “because we can”, and perhaps their updated camera and 1080p video recording will benefit from (or be made possible by) this new GPU horsepower, but more has to do with the fact that Apple has repeatedly hinted that they want in on the huge mobile gaming space. The iPad 2 was the first Apple device that contained the PowerVR SGX543MP2, and Apple teamed up with Epic to provide an enhanced version of Infinity Blade that showed off the power of the iPad 2 as a serious mobile gaming device. On top of that, this puts the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on the exact same hardware platform, which makes developers breathe a sigh of relief. They can develop once for this platform: iOS 5, PowerVR SGX543MP2, and A5, and have it work on both devices.
Infinity Blade 2 screenshot
According to recent NPD reports, the video game market is booming and is showing no sign of slowing down. Nintendo owns a giant piece of the mobile segment of the pie with their dominant DS platform, while everyone else lags behind. Sony is aiming square at Nintendo with their PlayStation Vita, but there are no other serious players in the market.
Now, let me clarify serious: You can read all manner of reports that show mobile gaming is on the rise because of smartphone and tablet users, but let’s be fair: Those games are casual, usually cartoony, finger-dragging simple games with underwhelming graphics. They’re almost all 2D. I’m not disparaging the games (or the money they make)—I mean, heck, Plants vs. Zombies is one of my favorite games of all time. The point is, though, that these types of very popular games (Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, etc.) don’t require a massive, next-gen, dual-core GPU. They don’t require 3D at all.
A big part of this stems from the simple reality that controlling video games on a mobile platform sucks. Let’s just face it—it sucks. Your fingers are big, the screen is small. On-screen knobs and buttons are lame, any way you look at it. Pushing your thumb around on a fake analog stick is both unsettling and difficult to control. Also, it takes up a significant portion of valuable screen real estate. Even worse: the iPhone has no options for alternative controls; there’s only one button on the device.
On-screen controls can work well on a device with a big screen, such as the iPad 2, but on a 3.5″ glass rectangle? Forget it.
Apple fans rarely identify as gamers. There’s not a lot of cultural crossover there. You’ll not often find the die-hard Apple users (the ones that put their Apple stickers in their windows) in heated discussions about the latest hardcore games. The development world reflects this as well; Epic’s showcase titles Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade 2 are really the pinnacle of “core” gaming on iOS. EA has made strides in attempting to bring some of their AAA IP to the iOS platform, but it will be a long time (if ever) before we see a simultaneous release of a major AAA title on consoles, PC, AND iOS.
Advice to Apple from Brian (because they asked)
I believe Apple can become a serious gaming platform, but they have to do a couple of things: First, they need a really, really good game. Infinity Blade and remakes of EA’s old titles ain’t it. Second, they need a viable control scheme. This doesn’t fit into the Apple way of thinking (simplicity, simplicity, simplicity), but it’s a simple fact. An external wireless controller is the only way. Third, they need a social gaming platform (Steam is available for Mac… if they rolled out Steam on iOS, this would be killer).
Will we see these pieces fall into place? My gut feeling says no. Apple’s userbase are just not going to be converted into core gamers, and core gamers are not going to look to Apple for their newest handheld console needs. Nintendo and Sony have that market locked down and there’s no pain driving users to competing platforms. Apple can (and should) stick to casual finger-dragging gaming, make millions of dollars, and call it a day.
So, back to the original question: Why a dual core monster GPU in the iPhone 4S? Apple seems to think they can win gamers over to their phone, but—at least this time around—it’s not going to work.
Articles RSS