For years, Samsung has had the ambition to develop its own proprietary graphics processing unit (GPU) for use in its mobile devices. Now, there are reports that the company has finally completed work on the first iteration of the component, which is apparently being referred to internally as the S-GPU.
In September 2016, it emerged that Samsung was in talks with both AMD and Nvidia with regard to licensing technologies to further its GPU project. It’s currently unclear whether either company contributed to the finished product, or whether Samsung elected to pursue other options.
Samsung is an enormous company, and has plenty of experience making its own components for use in its consumer devices. The firm already produces its own displays, and in some cases, processors — which makes a lot of sense, given how many smartphones and tablets it sells around the world.
Bringing GPU production in-house allows Samsung to cut costs by eliminating the need to secure components from an outside company. It remains to be seen whether this move will result in lower prices for the consumer, or will simply empower Samsung to better compete with the deep pockets of its biggest rival in the smartphone market, Apple.
Rumors have been swirling about Samsung’s GPU project since at least 2014, so it’s clear that the company has put considerable time and effort into the research and development process. Now that work on the first-generation version of the component has been completed, it’s only a matter of time before we see the fruits of this labor.
It’s expected that the S-GPU will be put through rigorous internal tests for the remainder of this year, according to a report from Sam Mobile. Assuming that those tests yield the desired results, we could see the component implemented in Samsung’s Exynos chipset as early as 2018.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.