14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is advising developers to waste no time and start coding their apps with the camera and gyroscope enhancements of the iPad 2 in mind, as the device is scheduled to ship in three days from now. Those who have existing apps are also encouraged to update their binaries to take advantage of the improvements to come.
The Cupertino-based gadgets maker is addressing programmers through its iOS Dev Center where a short note accompanied by iPad 2 imagery reads:
Update Your Apps for iPad 2
iPad 2 includes the new A5 chip, front and rear cameras, and a gyroscope, offering a great opportunity to enhance your apps with new user experiences and optimized performance.
What Apple doesn’t mention in this short note (but should) is that the new iPad’s A5 chip boost graphical performance 9-fold, an enhancement touted by Epic Games’ Mark Rein as ‘phenomenal.’
During a chat with the folks at VentureBeat, Rein said that with nine times the graphical power of the first iPad, Apple’s second-generation tablet is "fantastic" for gaming.
The game development guru hinted that Epic was on track to take full advantage of the new capabilities with exciting new titles.
However, while this raw processing power is to be leveraged in AAA titles like the Unreal Engine-enabled Infinity Blade, Apple’s iTunes App Store is chock-full of casual games that offer a great experience even with the limited capabilities of the previous generation iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices.
With few exceptions, most of these iDevices are on track to get the iOS 4.3 software update, which further optimizes the software for the hardware, another aspect developers need to keep in mind when coding their upcoming apps and games.
The iPad 2, however, comes pre-installed with a special version of iOS 4.3. It packs video- and photo-capable applications like PhotoBooth and FaceTime, the latter effectively turning the iPad into a fully fledged communications device.
Undoubtedly, many existing iOS devs will take advantage of the camera enhancements to develop their own versions of Photo Booth, with crazy effects for fun photos, as well as apps that leverage the concepts behind augmented reality.