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Samsung gaming handheld nears reality as driver development reportedly underway

Samsung is reportedly developing Vulkan-on-Exynos driver (Image source: Razer)
Samsung is reportedly developing Vulkan-on-Exynos driver (Image source: Razer)
Last month, a Samsung device patent surfaced, which shows an unusual foldable gaming handheld. As the latest report from @Jukanlosreve suggests, this device seems inching closer to reality.

A recently discovered patent hints that Samsung is possibly working on a unique gaming handheld. The images on the patent suggest that it would feature a foldable display, which would make it more pocket-friendly than some of the small-sized handhelds available in the market. Of course, not all patents become a real device, as companies tend to scrape most ideas later down the line. However, it seems that the device is getting closer to being an actual thing.

As frequent leaker @Jukanlosreve reports, Samsung is currently developing a Linux Vulkan driver for Xclipse. For those wondering, Samsung's Exynos SoCs feature Xclipse GPU, and Vulkan is well-suited for low-power hardware. In the same report, the leaker adds that Valve is preparing ARM support for SteamOS.

These two pieces of information may not mean much together, but they hint that more portable gaming devices may join the ever-growing handheld space. At the current stage, however, Samsung doesn't have a powerful SoC to go against the gaming handhelds that are leading the space (Legion Go curr. $539.99 on Amazon).

It's worth noting the AMD RDNA graphics technology that Samsung uses for its Xclipse GPUs makes the Exynos SoCs hold the potential to make a breakthrough. To fill you in, the most popular gaming handhelds, such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, are also powered by RDNA iGPUs. However, as per recent reports, the company is currently more focused on gaining stability in its 3 nm process.

So, even if Samsung is developing a Vulkan-on-Exynos driver, the gaming handheld that will take proper advantage of it may still be further away from now. Notably, it's not like smartphone games don't use Vulkan as the backend for rendering. Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, for example, uses it. However, @Jukanlosreve's report does suggest that it will be more than just an advancement for smartphone gaming.

Samsung foldable gaming handheld patent (Image source: WIPO)
Samsung foldable gaming handheld patent (Image source: WIPO)

Source(s)

@Jukanlosreve on X (tweet embedded above)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2024 12 > Samsung gaming handheld nears reality as driver development reportedly underway
Abid Ahsan Shanto, 2024-12- 5 (Update: 2024-12- 5)