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New processor will drive mobile virtual reality

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 30 May 2016
ARM's new processor will be used in the next generation of flagship smartphones to drive mobile VR.
ARM's new processor will be used in the next generation of flagship smartphones to drive mobile VR.

Processor design company ARM today launched the Cortex-A73 processor and Mali-G71 graphics processor, which will drive mobile virtual reality (VR) in flagship devices from 2017.

The processors offer increased performance and power-efficiency for enhanced contextual and visual capabilities on smartphones. This will allow devices to run high resolution content for longer periods.

"VR is one of the most important technological breakthroughs for the gaming industry in a generation," says Niklas Smedberg, technical director at Epic Games.

"The ability to deliver a compelling VR experience on all platforms, but especially mobile, is critical for the industry's continued growth and advancement. To enable a great mobile VR experience, devices need to be the highest performing and most energy-efficient available."

Last month, the International Data Corporation forecast worldwide shipments of VR hardware should generate revenue of about $2.3 billion this year. The majority of the VR hardware sold this year will rely on third-party smartphones to power the graphics of the immersive experience.

ARM's Cortex-A73 processor is 30% more power-efficient than its predecessor, and is the smallest of its kind.

The Mali-G71 graphics processor has a 50% increase in graphics performance, a 20% increase in power-efficiency and 40% more performance per mm2, says ARM.

The company says HiSilicon, MediaTek and Samsung Electronics have already taken licences.

In addition to smartphones, the processors offer the increased performance required for other consumer electronics applications, such as large-screen compute devices, industrial gateways, in-vehicle infotainment and smart TVs.

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