Interview

NFC, better AirPlay, controller support and eye tracking would be my killer features for iPad 3, says Mobile Pie's Will Luton

Apple out of reach?

NFC, better AirPlay, controller support and eye tracking would be my killer features for iPad 3, says Mobile Pie's Will Luton
Regardless of what new fixtures and fittings are bolted onto iPad 3, you can guarantee there will be queues forming outside Apple's doors when the tablet hits retail.

Such has been the overwhelming success of iPad that Mobile Pie creative director Will Luton believes even sub-£150 devices by rival manufacturers will have a hard task stemming Apple's growth – though admittedly, he'd welcome the competition.

We pinned down Will for his take on how Apple could and should lift the industry's benchmark even higher with iPad 3.

Pocket Gamer: From a developer's perspective, what's the least you're expecting from iPad 3?

Will Luton: A live stream of the event. As retrospectively understandable as it is now, I really missed that from the 4S launch.

Apple does, or did in the Jobs-era, great events. I'm sure that won't be lost with Tim Cook. So I'm excited to see what he does.

Siri is also a must.

If you were making the decisions, what's the one wildcard feature you'd include?

Dual colour and E-ink screen, which was touted a while back. LCD screens still aren't the best for reading books on.

Possibly NFC too, but iPad isn't necessarily the right form factor for its first Apple outing.

Multi-screen gaming is the iPad's potential killer feature. So I'd love to see better Airplay - maybe using Bluetooth 4 - which allows games to be played large screen on Apple TV with the device screen and TV screen displaying different pictures.

That plus controller support would be dreamboat, but I don't think third party accessory hardware support is Apple's style.

Also, I've seen some Apple eye tracking patents. That is something almost completely unexplored in gaming - I would love that to be a part of the offering.

You could do super cool head tracking stuff which gives an immersive 3D effect. So much opportunity there.

The latest suggestion is iPad 3 will come with an 'A5X' chip, rather than A6. Given we know nothing about either, is this likely to make any practical difference?

The thing that shakes up mobile games is less processor evolution but more distribution and input technology.

There are few games companies really pushing the iOS family processing limits - NaturalMotion and Chair being excellent notable exceptions. Whatever performance it provides will unlikely change what games we make. Eye tracking would, however.

Where do you think iPad 3's competition is likely to come from?

I think the usable sub-£150 Android tablet.

It's going to happen this year and it's going to hit the iPad. But iPad is the top of tablet mountain - you can't undermine that easily.

What do you think iPad 3 will do for games on the App Store, and mobile gaming in general?

I'll reserve judgement until I see it.
Thanks to Will for his time.

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.