Apple’s New Gaming Console
Mar 18, 2024
Is Apple Set to Launch a Gaming Console?
In what appears to be the dawn of a new era this September, Apple is poised to once again revolutionize the tech world. They have grand plans to redefine the landscape of mobile gaming, and I couldn’t be more excited. Let me explain why.
As per tradition, Apple recently hosted an event to unveil its latest iPhones, new watches, and the upcoming iOS features. While there are many improvements to discuss, this blog post focuses on the revelation of the A17 Pro chipset, which Apple introduced. Apple claims that this new chip can support hardware-based ray tracing, a significant development that promises to bring realistic lighting and graphics to iPhone games.
First, let’s dive into what ray tracing is, in a nutshell. Ray tracing is a rendering technique that simulates how light interacts with objects in a 3D environment, creating highly realistic and visually immersive graphics in applications such as video games and movies. It revolves around accurately simulating how light bounces, reflects, and refracts, resulting in lifelike visual effects.
During the event, Apple also announced an array of new games that will soon grace the App Store. Here’s the list we have for now:
- Resident Evil Village
- Resident Evil 4 — Remake
- Death Stranding
- Assassins Creed Mirage
It’s worth noting that we’re not just talking about mobile gaming here; these are big-scale console games with incredibly realistic graphics.
As I ponder the future, it’s becoming increasingly evident that Apple may release a new MacBook equipped with a chipset supporting ray tracing. This could have a profound impact on gaming on Macs and, perhaps more significantly, game development on Mac. Not too long ago, one of the leading game engines, Unreal Engine, unveiled groundbreaking technologies like Lumen for real-time lighting and Nanite for realistic and high-performance textures. However, these technologies were reliant on ray tracing-capable devices, causing hiccups in their smooth operation on Macs for developers.
Now, with the assurance of ray tracing support, we can expect Unreal Engine to run seamlessly on Macs, leading to an influx of games supporting MacOS.
Furthermore, here’s a thought-provoking question for our readers: What if the new Apple TV comes with a chipset that supports ray tracing? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.