Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Arm told Android Authority that its new Arm ASR upscaling tech supports current and older phones.
- This suggests that the upscaling tech could theoretically come to older Pixel phones and Galaxy phones.
Arm announced its Accuracy Super Resolution (ASR) technology last week. This enables resolution upscaling in smartphone games, delivering sharper visuals while still offering good performance and battery life.
Arm tested the tech on a phone running the high-end MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset, but it turns out this upscaling solution will support a wide variety of devices.
“We’re very proud of the work done in creating Arm ASR and we did it mindfully, with the goal of supporting as many game developers as possible,” the company told Android Authority in an emailed response to questions. “That means helping every Android developer, regardless of GPU. This technology works brilliantly on current and soon-to-be-released devices, it can also be used successfully on older handsets to improve performance.”
We’re glad to hear that Arm ASR supports older Android phones too. This suggests that devices like older Pixels, older Exynos-powered Galaxy flagship phones, mid-range Galaxy phones, and the Pixel A series could support this upscaling tech. However, it’s unclear whether these OEMs will need to explicitly add support for Arm ASR to their devices.
Arm ASR: What about the supported games?
The smartphone kingpin also touched on compatible games and game engines:
Arm is already deeply engaged with well-known game developers and game engines regarding Arm ASR, and we plan to engage with even more developers this year. Arm and MediaTek will be sharing more details at upcoming events.
ASR is based on AMD’s open-source FSR 2 temporal upscaling tech. Upscaling allows you to take a game running at a low resolution (480p, 540p, 720p) and boost it to a higher resolution, resulting in sharper graphics. This approach reduces the device’s workload compared to natively rendering the game at a high resolution, resulting in better performance and efficiency. Arm claimed improved image quality compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Game Super Resolution method — check out the comparison below.
Qualcomm’s solution is already used in titles like Call of Duty Warzone Mobile and Farming Simulator 2023 Mobile. So we hope Arm ASR gains significant adoption too, as it could deliver much-improved performance, reduced temperatures, and longer battery life on current and future smartphones.
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