New PowerVR Chip For 4G iPhone?

[Paul Daniel Ash]

The company whose graphics processing units have powered every iPhone unveiled its new chip at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday. The HD-capable PowerVR SGX545 GPU has full support for both OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.0 and can render 40 million polygons per second at 200MHz. Speculation has already begun that this will be the graphics engine used in the fourth-generation iPhone expected this summer.

The graphics on the iPhone - which have garnered praise over the years - are widely considered overdue for an upgrade: the iPhone's 320 × 480 display pales in comparison to the Motorola Droid's 854 x 480 pixel screen. An HD-capable iPhone would be a logical next step for the device. The PowerVR core's OpenCL support in the holds out the possibility that the GPU could be used to relieve the main processor on a future iPhone that runs OpenCL software. The SGX545 also supports multithreading, and so could further maximize performance when installed alongside a multi-core processor like the ARM Cortex-A9, which has itself been rumored as the CPU that Apple will use in the 4G iPhone.

The company expects its chip to be used not just in phones but in netbooks as well, touting the core's DirectX support.

Combining our many years of experience in the embedded, mobile and PC-based DirectX graphics worlds, PowerVR SGX 545 takes the possibilities of hand-held graphics to a new level by delivering a full DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.x feature set as well as delivering GPU powered OpenCL heterogeneous parallel processing capabilities for the mobile and embedded markets. This makes PowerVR SGX545 a compelling solution for application processor SoC designers targeting the next generation of netbook and MID mobile products demanding exceptional graphics capabilities.

Imagination has not yet begun production of the SGX545, but says it has begun licensing the chip and, notably, has already produced some test units for a company it refers to as a "lead partner." Given that Apple has used PowerVR cores in every iPhone and iPod touch to date and owns almost ten percent of Imagination, it's not unrealistic to speculate that they are talking about Apple.

image via cellphones.ca

[rkswat]

I could def go for some HD iPhone style.

[eyepoper]

What will the price be? 199?? Or more?

[Jahooba]

Wow, cool stuff! 40 million polygons is a LOT. That's like a PS2.

Meanwhile, no advancements have been made in battery technology

Maybe the new iPhone will have an OLED display? That would cut down on battery a bit -- probably enough to give it a similar battery life to previous iPhones.

Apple's usually pretty good with battery life, I'm sure they'll figure it out.

[carlos916]

HD IPHONE!! ... how bout 3D iphone!! ehh?? lol

[ip3]

i really can't wait for the next gen iPhone the 3gs was fast but this will make a 2g look like a snail in comparison...

[Devilish4eveR]

Faster processors, better graphics, 5 mp camara, 802.11 N support... The iPhone is now really starting to sound like a "pc" or "mac computer".. Reallyyyy can't wait... BRING IT ON ALREADY!!!

[big poops]

Wow, cool stuff! 40 million polygons is a LOT. That's like a PS2.

Meanwhile, no advancements have been made in battery technology

Maybe the new iPhone will have an OLED display? That would cut down on battery a bit -- probably enough to give it a similar battery life to previous iPhones.

Apple's usually pretty good with battery life, I'm sure they'll figure it out.

like a ps2 gameplay graphics? or the little movie clips that r good graphics like on resident evil

[rwin84]

sweet *****

[ecd5000]

just pumped to see what this next phone has. still using a jailbroken 3g so this 4g or whatever should be a nice upgrade!

[adsonjustin]

i'm so excited for the next iPhone. 

[blkcadi]

A look into the future? Hope so.

[rhekt]

its going to be exciting to see it roll out this summer

[tudtran]

Apple will need everything to beat the droid.

[jdonn2009]

Apple will need everything to beat the droid.

ummmm.......... fail, the droid isn't that great....

[sphangman]

ummmm.......... fail, the droid isn't that great....

very true , although there is nothing wrong with that kind of thinking as far as apple is concerned. The best defence is offence and all that ...

[confucious]

I wonder how they are going to power all this technology? Or should we expect a battery life in the region of 5 minutes?

[ip3]

ummmm.......... fail, the droid isn't that great....

lol droid sucks my friend of mine used to have it until we put my iphone to his droid webpage to webpage app to app .......

I wonder how they are going to power all this technology? Or should we expect a battery life in the region of 5 minutes?

i was thinking the same thing... will apple finally give us a removable battery??

[k.nitsua]

This so far, besides the obvious bump in camera, RAM, and hard drive space, is the ONLY rumor I think will most likely occur.

OLED is still up in the air for me, as well as a front-facing camera.

Definitely don't see a replaceable battery happening.