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"At the \"Let's Talk iPhone\" event, Apple may have revealed an iPhone 4S physically similar to the iPhone 4, but which represents a major leap forward in smartphone performance. This will be most noticeable in gaming, the most used of smartphone apps.\nThe iPhone 4S is powered by the A5 processor, which contains 512 MB of RAM, identical to the iPad 2. Apple claims the A5 has twice the processing power and seven times the graphics speed of the A4 chip that powered the iPhone 4, the original iPad and the iPod touch 4th generation. \n\n\nSEE ALSO: 10 Best Live Multiplayer Games for iPhone\n\nWhat do today\u2019s more powerful specifications mean for the future of iOS gaming? The A5 devices can now accommodate games that rival the graphics and complexity found on consoles. Furthermore, many current games will now be able to support better graphics on the A5 chip; games such as Infinity Blade and Dead Space were updated to support the improved capabilities of the A5 when the iPad 2 was released. It\u2019s likely other games will get similar updates with the release of the iPhone 4S.\nThree particular technologies will highlight the A5 chip's capabilities. \nThe Unreal Development Kit\n\nFirst, the Unreal Development Kit allows developers to utilize the powerful Unreal Engine, which powers many PC and console games (most notably the Gears of War series), for iOS games. The Infinity Blade 2 demo at the \"Let's talk iPhone\" event demonstrated the console-quality detail users can look forward to. Alongside more powerful hardware, full-fledged console and PC-style Unreal Engine games on iOS are now a reality.\nUnity\n\nThe second technology is Unity. While this engine has been used in iOS games for years, one recently released game illustrated the engine\u2019s console-quality capabilities: Shadowgun. This game features an impressive level of detail, even on A4 devices, but even greater quality when played on the iPad 2's A5 chip. Hundreds of 3D games use Unity as well; look forward to their impressive visuals thanks to A5 chip technology.\nFlash-Based Gaming via Adobe AIR\nThe third and somewhat unlikely candidate is Flash-based gaming through Adobe AIR. The point-and-click adventure game Machinarium was recently ported to the iPad 2 using Adobe AIR. These types of games may need the A5 chip to run properly on iOS, so the new iPhone 4S will open a much bigger market for them. And, Machinarium managed to reached number one in the iPad App Store, despite being limited to iPad 2.  So restricting support to only A5 devices is not necessarily a detriment to sales. More popular hardware-intensive Flash games will be making their way to iOS.\nThe Value in Older Hardware\n\nDespite the A5 chip gaming advancements, Apple will also keep older hardware in play, particularly third-generation devices: the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3rd generation. \nApple only gave the iPod touch a cosmetic upgrade, in place of any internal hardware upgrade. After all, Apple described the iPod touch as the most popular handheld gaming console in the world. Apple has typically let its devices remain in use with updates for two years. If this pattern holds true, the A4 devices will be around for awhile. Many games won't need more powerful hardware after all. For example, Where's My Water is not a hardware-taxing game, and yet it currently sits at number one for paid apps on both the iPhone and iPad (as of this writing).\nApple retains the iPhone 3GS as a means of bringing customers into the fold of iOS, when they otherwise might not have ever owned an iPhone at all. Apple's exciting little secret is that the phone is still quite capable. It features the same amount of RAM as the iPod touch 4th generation and the original iPad. And while its processor is slightly less powerful, it features a lower-resolution screen for games to render. This will help developers continue running demanding games on lesser hardware. In fact, 3D games will likely have similar performance on the iPhone 3GS as on the A4 devices\u2019 Retina Display resolution. \nIt's telling that Infinity Blade 2, the same game used by Apple to show off the A5's capabilities, will be available for the iPhone 3GS. The hardware is still capable, so there's no reason for it to go away any time soon.\nWhile gaming has the potential to advance to all-new levels \u2014 and there will be games that exploit the A5 processor's power \u2014 the majority of games should be perfectly playable on all current iOS devices for the foreseeable future. Apple appears to be playing both sides of the gaming market here: welcoming games that push the newest hardware envelope, while also allowing older-generation devices to play the majority of new releases. It\u2019s this flexibility that will continue to strengthen the App Store gaming market. \nWhat do you think? Will mobile iOS games begin to rival console games? Are you interested in buying an iPhone 4S to play the latest and greatest titles? Let us know in the comments below.\nSpecial thanks to Colin Walsh of Celsius Game Studios and Josh Presseisen of Crescent Moon Games for their contributions to this article."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/10/13/iphone-4s-gaming/>