'Epic Zen Garden' Metal Demo Shown Off at WWDC Now Available for Download

At its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple unveiled Metal, an API designed to improve game performance on iOS. Epic Games took the stage during the event to show off Epic Zen Garden, a game built using the Unreal 4 Engine and the Metal API.



The game, which was designed to show off the impressive graphic enhancement features possible with Metal, demonstrated an expansive world with a fully interactive environment. Users could touch a tree to send a cascade of leaves and cherry blossoms swirling to the ground or interact with a group of koi fish.





As of today, Epic Zen Garden is available for download, letting users see some of the things that will be possible in iOS games in the near future. The game supports a resolution of 1440 x 1080 at 30fps, and can display 3,500 butterflies at once. One of the major features of Metal is that it allows for more draw calls, letting a huge number of objects be displayed on the screen.

Epic Zen Garden is a beautiful graphical environment showcasing the power of iOS 8, developed by Epic Games with Unreal Engine 4. Tap to navigate this interactive oasis brimming unmatched detail on mobile. Swipe the Sakura tree to make thousands of cherry blossoms swirl in the air, graze the koi pond to summon leagues of fish, and rake the sand with your finger to create subtle designs. Touch the well to bring throngs of butterflies out of hiding.

More information on how Metal works, Epic Zen Garden and the Unreal Engine 4 can be seen in the video below.






Epic Zen Garden can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]



(Thanks, Eli!)

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Posted in 2014 at 08:41PM, September 17

Apple Expected to Announce iPhone 6 in Early September, With Launch Later in the Month

Rumors and past release date info have thus far pointed towards a September launch date for the iPhone 6, which has now been confirmed by a reliable source that spoke to MacRumors.



Mass shipments of the iPhone 6 from China to the United States are expected to occur during the last two weeks of August and it is likely that Apple will announce the iPhone 6 during the first or second weeks of September. The first deliveries of the device will come later in the month on a corresponding Friday, roughly a week and a half after the event.




iPhone 6 render by Tomas Moyano and Nicolas Aichino


An early September event is in line with previous rumors and with the event dates of the last two iPhone generations. The iPhone 5 was announced on Wednesday, September 12 with availability occurring on September 21 and the iPhone 5s/5c was announced on Tuesday, September 10 with availability starting on September 20.



It remains unknown if the September iPhone 6 event will include just the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 or both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variations. Early rumors pointed towards production issues that might delay the launch of the larger phone, but those problems appear to be solved and a recent rumor from Bloomberg has suggested both devices could launch at the same time.



A report from earlier today pointed towards a September 25 launch date for the iPhone 6, but Apple typically releases the iPhone on a Friday, making this prediction unlikely. September 12, 19, and 26 are all probable launch dates for the iPhone 6, based on production speed and available inventory.



Apple's iPhone 6 is expected to include a larger display size along with a thinner iPod-touch style design, an A8 processor, and camera improvements. The 5.5-inch iPhone has thus far been positioned as the premium version and may include upgrades like optical image stabilization and a larger storage capacity, with a $100 price premium.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:41PM, July 03

Flappy Bird creator posts a teaser for his crappy new game

Amazing as it seems, we are still talking about Flappy Bird all these months later. And now Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen has given us our first look at his followup to his one-time smash-hit mobile game, which he said earlier this week would involve "a guy jumping from building to building." Sure enough, the picture Nguyen posted on Twitter Thursday afternoon features a faceless man in a white helmet jumping onto the roof of a building and then rushing off to presumably jump to another building. Will this new game be as successful? We have our doubts since even big-name studios such as Rovio and King have had trouble expanding their game empire beyond their first hit franchises. You can check out the screen capture of Nguyen's newest work of art below.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:41PM, May 15

How Samsung plans to make sure driving with the Galaxy S5 won’t kill you

If there's one thing that's even stupider than people who drive while watching videos on Google Glass, it's people who drive while watching videos on their smartphones. However, Samsung has apparently come up with a way to make sure you can still at least use your Galaxy S5 in the car without risking a major crash. Dutch website KopenGalaxyS5 has posted a leaked screenshot showing the new "Driving Mode" for the Galaxy S5 that will let you use voice commands to execute core smartphone functionalities such as answering your telephone, getting turn-by-turn navigation and playing your favorite music. You'll apparently be able to access the features simply by saying "Hi Galaxy" while the device is in Driving Mode, much as you can activate Google Now just by saying "OK Google." The leaked screenshot of Driving Mode for the Galaxy S5 follow below.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:41PM, March 04

Why Microsoft might actually release an Android phone

Nokia's "Normandy" Android handset has become something of a curiosity for many smartphone fans who see it as a "what-could-have-been" for Nokia if it had decided to not go exclusively with Windows Phone. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, however, thinks that Nokia's Android phone is more than just a novelty, however — it might be a hint of what's to come from future Microsoft phones now that it's on the cusp of buying Nokia's handset division.



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Posted in 2014 at 08:41PM, January 17