When Apple unveiled iPad 2, they also advertised a new video converter designed to mirror whatever is displayed on the tablet’s screen to an external HDMI display by upscaling content to full HD 1080p resolution. It works seamlessly with any third-party application unlike before when only a handful of apps on the App Store were written to specifically support video output. In the case of games, the $39 Apple Digital AV Adapter upscales graphics from the iPad’s native 1024 by 768 pixel resolution to full HD 1920 by 1080 resolution.
We are now hearing that the PowerVR SGX543MP2, the GPU unit of the A5 chip with ninefold jump in graphics performance, can drive full 1080p 3D graphics. According to TouchArchade, the next update to Firemint’s excellent Real Racing 2 HD will enable full 1080p video output in 30 frames per second – without upscaling, as demoed in the below video:
If other game makers follow suit, Apple needn’t develop a standalone gaming console, as some have hoped. With the A5 chip making its way into a next-generation Apple TV and future iOS devices, we could be able to play console-quality games on our TV via a pocket-sized device. From the YouTube video description:
