“Metal is a graphics API for iOS, squarely targeted at game developers. Metal’s objective is to eliminate OpenGL by giving developers more power with direct access to the graphics processor,” Mark Reschke writes for TGAAP. “This will allow high-end gaming developers to push the limits of Apple’s A7 (and likely forthcoming A8) processor found within the latest iOS devices. The result is Apple’s CPU and GPU will work together in “seamless harmony” as Apple says, allowing games like Ryse: Son of Rome, to look and feel like its high-end console counterpart.”
“Metal is another tool Apple gave to developers, which continues the onslaught against Android’s massive fragmentation — but might it be used elsewhere in Apple’s product line?” Reschke asks.
“There was not a single mention or reference to Apple TV at WWDC, but technology like Metal is not likely to be left in an iPhone and iPad silos,” Reschke writes. “A revamped Apple TV targeted at the gaming community, allowing more than just networks to dive into the 20 million and growing unit market is something Apple surely has their sites on. Coupling Metal with an all-new A8 processor and next generation Imagination Technology graphics, should put Apple’s diminutive set top box sales on fire.”
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