Samsung is apparently now in the process of developing its own custom GPU which is likely to first make its presence known on “lower tier mobile devices.” This comes from LinkedIn job postings that have now surfaced (first spotted by WinFuture), which clearly state the jobs are related to the creation and development of an in-house GPU.
This is of importance as it will mark the next-step in Samsung’s assumed goal of offering a full in-house solution for its mobile products. Especially if the company also opts to be in the driving seat when it comes to the production side of the GPU. Outside of the US, for example, Samsung mobile phones do typically come powered by the company’s own line of Exynos SoCs, compared to the Snapdragon-powered alternatives usually found in the US. While these Exynos solutions are Samsung processors, they do draw on some third-party technologies. A case in point being the Mali GPU, designed by ARM. Therefore, the suggestion here is this custom GPU could in effect replace the likes of the Mali GPU in Exynos SoCs in the future – at least on some devices.
On the low-end side of things, in spite of Samsung seemingly looking to focus this GPU on more affordable devices, this might not actually be the end goal as the suggestion is this custom GPU will be of a higher quality than what would be expected for its intended market, and more comparable to flagship-level alternatives. Which in itself suggests the GPU might become available in more higher-end products down the road. However, in the interim, Samsung looks likely to focus on including the graphics unit on lower-end devices while it refines the process and as a means to keep associated costs as low as possible during the initial stages and generations. From the end user perspective, while this may seem like Samsung is using the lower-end market as a testing ground, the benefit is those lower-end devices will come with a presumed better-quality graphics processor than they might have otherwise. There does also seem to be a clear suggestion Samsung is looking well beyond the smartphone market for additional opportunities for its custom GPU, including the likes of autonomous vehicles, as well as devices/products that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.