Samsung and AMD Partner up for Mobile GPUs:
Samsung and AMD are teaming up to develop mobile graphics using AMD's Radeon GPU technology.
[...] The graphics systems will be high-performance and ultra-low power, and aimed at mobile devices including smartphones.
Radeon graphics are already being used across PC, console, cloud and high-performance computing, AMD CEO Lisa Su said.
[...] Terms include Samsung paying AMD licensing fees and royalties for its Radeon technology, and AMD licensing custom graphics intellectual property based on RDNA architecture.
[...] Samsung will also integrate Radeon graphics into all of its future system-on-a-chip offerings for mobile applications.
I wonder if this will play a role in AMD's APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) integrated graphics efforts?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 04 2019, @09:13AM (2 children)
I would pretty much gloss over Exynos SoC news if I see it on AnandTech. Samsung doesn't even use it in all of their flagship smartphones. For example, Galaxy S10 [wikipedia.org] uses the Exynos 9820 for the "worldwide" version but uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 for USA, Canada, China, Japan, and Latin America. There could be great financial or technical reasons for them to do that, but it doesn't sound like a vote of confidence to me. They should use their own chips in their own phones (like Huawei will be forced to).
AMD-licensed GPU technology in smartphones? Now you've got my attention. It probably won't be the biggest leap ever from the Mali GPUs they are currently using, but it's at least a differentiating factor, and something to look into when it can be benchmarked.
A note on the RDNA thing. AMD's Navi GPUs are now said to be using a GCN/RDNA hybrid architecture:
AMD Radeon RX 5000 With Navi GPUs A Hybrid of RDNA & GCN Chip Architecture – Pure RDNA Based ‘Navi 20’ GPU Coming in 2020 [wccftech.com]
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(Score: 2) by Pino P on Tuesday June 04 2019, @01:21PM
Unlike Verizon, which plans to retire its CDMA2000 network at the end of 2019 [fiercewireless.com], Sprint hasn't announced a date for CDMA2000 sunset that I can find. Until major carriers fully retire their CDMA2000 networks [wikipedia.org] in favor of LTE, compatibility with CDMA2000 networks will remain a selling point, and as I understand it, CDMA2000 is very much a Qualcomm thing.
That depends in part on the outcome of Qualcomm's patent litigation [soylentnews.org].
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Tuesday June 04 2019, @04:14PM
Xiaomi is doing the same as Samsung for the same reason: Anyone trying to compete in the American markets with no American factories, American IP or American shareholders tends to find themselve banned one way or another.
As for the tech itself, meh. I'm fine with 5 years old GPUs if I have video acceleration and it's not a power hog. Now if the drivers end up being foss... Now that's something I'd throw money at.
compiling...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 04 2019, @10:06AM (2 children)
AMD graphics are well documented and existing drivers are quite adequate, this may be the a good prerequisite for porting some real and fully open operating systems to phones. We all need an effective workaround for Google's grip of evil.
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Tuesday June 04 2019, @02:11PM (1 child)
What will *really* be interesting is if AMD starts making Zen 2 SoCs for phones. I notice most x86 devices, even shitty $80 tablets, end up having a real BIOS that can run any OS.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 04 2019, @03:00PM
Intel already tried the x86 phone thing and it didn't work out for them.
But I do hope that AMD's work with Samsung leads them onto the path to create a 5-10 Watt Zen 2 + Navi APU (or something like that) for fanless tablets and laptops. The connection being that this particular mobile GPU has to use even less power.
Compare to Intel's Sunny Cove + Atom demo chip:
Intel's Architecture Day 2018: The Future of Core, Intel GPUs, 10nm, and Hybrid x86 [anandtech.com]
7 Watt TDP, 2 mW standby power, and introduces Intel's copy of ARM's big.LITTLE scheme, with 1 big core and 4 small ones.
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(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Tuesday June 04 2019, @03:33PM (9 children)
Is there really that much of market for this level of GPU technology in mobile devices?
Are there, like, hardcore mobile Fortnite players who are salivating over the increase in frame rate? Couldn’t they up their game a lot further by using a big screen and a typical game controller?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Freeman on Tuesday June 04 2019, @04:44PM
Yes. In the case of fortnite mobile vs PC usage, I would imagine it still has a larger PC following. College graduates from a few years ago are part of the always had a cellphone crowd, essentially. They love themselves some mobile games. Which is why we've got the deplorable practice of loot boxes and microtransactions ported from mobile games.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 04 2019, @11:01PM (7 children)
Gaming smartphones are a thing, and the Nintendo Switch is of a similar form factor.
Moreover, you could connect your phone to an external display or TV.
Services like Google Stadia could reduce the demand for mobile GPU performance though.
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(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Tuesday June 04 2019, @11:51PM (6 children)
Fair enough, the Switch is an excellent example of a platform that would benefit greatly from this kind of device. But it also illustrates the limitations of smartphones as a gaming platform— the Switch has dual thumb sticks and buttons on it like a real controller. Ever tried to play a shooter on a touchscreen only interface? I have, on an iPad, and it’s barely playable, and would seem to me to be damn near impossible to prevail against other players with real user interfaces. Maybe that’s more of an indictment of my gaming skills than a valid critique of mobile gaming.
Maybe if they put these in smartphones they’ll give us back our 3.5 mm jack?? Wouldn’t that be nice.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 05 2019, @12:13AM
Gaming smartphones have attachments to give them buttons/controls. Here, we've covered them:
Xiaomi Announces Smartphones with 10 GB of RAM [soylentnews.org] links to the Black Shark Helo [androidauthority.com], and you can see the attachments that go on the top and bottom of the phone, so that it can be held like a PSP in landscape orientation.
Nubia Adds an Internal Fan to a "Gaming Smartphone" [soylentnews.org] - Well, that was bound to happen.
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(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday June 05 2019, @02:55PM
Even beyond what takyon posted below, there's the possibility of pairing controllers with your smartphone. Just hop on amazon/goggle/whatever and search for "smartphone game controller" and you'll see various controllers designed specifically with smartphones in mind. Generally they turn the phone into a big controller (PSP style) or attach the phone to a traditional controller. Some of them even include battery packs.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday June 06 2019, @02:23PM (3 children)
I purchased a copy of a magazine that the RaspberryPi foundation recently acquired, because it seemed interesting. It was a Custom PC build magazine, thing, anyways. In it, I found a little piece of hardware that was designed to turn your smartphone into a sit down computer experience. It had a special pedestal for your smartphone to sit in, and a was a bluetooth hub that you plugged your mouse and keyboard into. They called it a battle station or something like that. So, yeah, smartphone gaming is starting to turn towards hardcore gaming as well.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Thursday June 06 2019, @03:32PM (2 children)
Very interesting, and bolsters your point well about market opportunities. It’s really this on-the-go gaming concept that I have a lot of trouble with. Maybe I just can’t appreciate the skill that goes into mowing down FPS opponents on a tiny screen while negotiating foot traffic on a busy sidewalk.
I saw this ad a few months ago that had a kid walking down a busy street with both hands on a smartphone in landscape position, phalanges twitching madly. Behind him, a skyscraper morphs into a giant menacing Godzilla-like creature. A nearby bus transforms into a armored vehicle disgorging men with Kevlar vests, headgear, and automatic rifles. I keep hoping that a dump truck will emerge that suddenly flattens him, and whisks him away from view.
Marketing never was my strong suit.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday June 06 2019, @05:16PM
Your version is what happens in the real world. There's a reason why cities and / or nations are starting to legislate the use of a smartphone when crossing the street. The advertisement you mentioned is a prime example of why there may need to be such legislation.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 11 2019, @02:12AM
A lot of people commute to work or school on public transportation, potentially including hour-long or longer one-way bus/train rides.
In a few years, we could have actual driverless car services, leading to many hours of people messing around on phones instead of driving. These cars will likely have internal entertainment systems and advertising. They could also provide a dumb terminal for smartphones to connect to.
Intel and Warner Bros. Partner to Bring "Immersive Experiences" to Autonomous Vehicles [soylentnews.org]
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