Huawei Announces GPU Turbo Update for Phones

Huawei Announces GPU Turbo Update for Phones

To address demand for greater graphics processing power, Huawei will be releasing a software GPU update for some of their mobile phones. GPU Turbo, a graphics processing technology built from the ground up, will revamp the ability of smartphones to process graphics-intensive applications like games. GPU Turbo will allow users to enjoy much-improved gaming performances without having to upgrade their devices.

With GPU Turbo installed, graphics processing efficiency is improved by up to 60 percent while overall SoC power consumption is saved by 30 percent.

Huawei engineers took design cues from a car’s turbocharger, which uses a cylinder to feed extra air into the combustion engine to give a vehicle an extra boost of power at no additional fuel cost. The same concept was applied to GPU Turbo, which takes its namesake from the turbochargers of automobiles.

GPU Turbo is able to accelerate performance by optimizing system utilization of software and hardware resources. GPU Turbo will raise the bar for GPU performance across Huawei smartphones, beginning with the HUAWEI Mate 10 and P20 Series in August. With GPU Turbo installed, graphics processing efficiency is improved by up to 60 percent while overall SoC power consumption is saved by 30 percent. This is beneficial since graphically demanding operations typically consume battery quickly.

This update exemplifies how Huawei addresses customer pain points through innovation. The improvement will be felt widely when playing graphically intense games. GPU Turbo will initially support PUBG MOBILE and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, two leading MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) titles, each with millions of active users. Support for additional games will be announced at a later date.

“Graphics performance is becoming a keystone of mobile devices, powering a wide array of applications, in particular gaming,” said Ryan Lui, AVP, Software Marketing, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Gaming on mobile devices is the platform seeing the most innovation, with users enjoying more sophisticated, beautiful and graphically-demanding games. GPU Turbo makes high-end gaming experiences possible while also unlocking the potential for other demanding applications possible such as energy efficient AR/VR for shopping, learning and fun.”

The unveiling of GPU Turbo comes at a critical juncture, especially as mobile gaming is on a sharp rise globally. In 2017, gaming spend on mobile devices was more than two times greater than on PCs and almost four times more than traditional game consoles. The mobile gaming segment represents US$46.1 billion worldwide. With Huawei’s increased focus on gaming, would they be announcing it’s first gaming phone soon?

Huawei will be pushing out updates on a rolling basis, first launching in August with the HUAWEI Mate 10, HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro, PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 10, HUAWEI P20 Pro and HUAWEI P20 and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS. Even lower end models such as the Nova 2i would be receiving the update.

GPU Turbo global release schedule:

Model Regions Release Date
HUAWEI Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro, Mate RS Europe, Russia, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa August 2018
HUAWEI P20 and P20 Pro Europe, Russia, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa August 2018
HUAWEI Mate 10 Lite All Markets September 2018
HUAWEI Nova 2i All Markets September 2018
HUAWEI P Smart All Markets September 2018
HUAWEI P20 Lite Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa September 2018
HUAWEI Y9 2018 All Markets September 2018
HUAWEI Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro All Markets November 2018
HUAWEI P10 and P10 Plus All Markets November 2018