Mobile graphics have come a long way since the original iPhone. We now have full 3D games on mobile that look just as good, if not better, than launch titles on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Nvidia obviously doesn’t think that’s good enough and is now developing a mobile graphics chip that will match the performance of PS4 and Xbox One titles.
Nvidia formally unveiled its new Tegra K1 mobile graphics chip at a pre-CES press conference on Sunday night. The new mobile graphics technology is powered by the same Kepler architecture that Nvidia uses in its GTX 780 Ti PC graphics card. In theory, this will allow the Tegra K1 to make better looking games as well as ease cross platform development between PC and mobile. More amazingly, it supports all modern graphics technologies and engines, such as DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.4, Unreal Engine 4 and tessellation.
For a better look at what Tegra K1 can do, check out this demo video:
Now, does this mean that you’ll get better looking games and visuals on mobile devices? Most definitely. Will mobile games finally look as good as current generation games on PC and consoles? Not likely. While the Tegra K1 can use the same graphics technologies as the big guys, the limitations of mobile platforms will prevent the K1 from pushing out visuals on par with titles like Crysis 3 or Killzone: Shadow Fall.
None of this is to say that Nvidia is wasting its time with the Tegra K1. Mobile graphics technology needed a kick in the pants and Nvidia may have just provided that kick. It will be interesting to see then how many device manufacturers adopt the Tegra K1 when Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon processors will no doubt attract a lot of attention as well.
Image via NVIDIA/YouTube