Key Takeaways
- Samsung may be entering the gaming handheld market with a foldable device using the Vulkan driver for its Exynos SoCs.
- The company’s recent initiatives suggest a focus on multiple important parts of the gaming handheld equation.
- Samsung’s history and resources may position it as a major competitor in the portable gaming arena, even as competition continues to heat up.
Our September reporting on Valve’s ARM64 SteamOS machinations was (maybe rightfully) met with skepticism that it would bring the vast PC gaming catalog to smartphones. But, as one savvy Android Police reporter prophesied, certain potentially related leaks recently emerged to indicate something arguably even more interesting.
Samsung, itself, is reportedly “preparing something interesting” involving a recently initiated project on Linux drivers for the Vulkan graphics API (via @Jukanlosreve on Twitter/X). If that weren’t enough, there’s hard evidence that the South Korean tech giant has already given at least some thought to a foldable gaming handheld. What if all these rumors point to the same device?
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Too obvious to be a coincidence, or too good to be true?
Increasingly clout-worthy industry leaker @Jukanlosreve blatantly teased followers with news of an unexpected upcoming Samsung device, following minutes later with a pair of context clues as to the topic. The second was Valve’s ARM64 porting of SteamOS, which various outlets have now covered. The first, entirely new hint was Samsung’s new development of a Vulkan driver for the Xclipse GPU found in Exynos systems-on-a-chip.
Placing these two claims next to each other, the extremely obvious takeaway is that Samsung is developing a driver that maximizes its best-ever GPU’s potential on phones, tablets, and gaming handhelds. The platform-agnostic Vulkan API holds significant potential for resource-limited machines such as today’s battery-powered, ARM-driven mobile devices, and Exynos CPU and GPU performance are inching closer to industry leader Qualcomm’s than ever.
Samsung could, theoretically, be developing this new Vulkan-on-Exynos driver as a feature for potential customers of its chipmaking arm. That is, maybe Samsung is simply working to provide Exynos chip users with the API layers they want. And while there are hardly enough high-end Exynos chips to go around at the moment, due to the unfortunately low yields of Samsung’s 3nm process, the manufacturer appears to be actively focusing on stabilizing that process and improving output before moving on to the next tier (also via @Jukanlosreve).
Source: WIPO via 91Mobiles
That interesting three-leak set portfolio of circumstantial evidence could still indicate Samsung’s role as a mere hardware vendor in this proposed scenario. But wait, there’s more: weeks ago, 91Mobiles reported a newly approved Samsung Display Co. patent for a foldable device with built-in thumbsticks and directional pads (via GameRant). Now we’re getting somewhere.
Realistically, patents don’t always mean much. But the confluence of not one, not two, not three, but four distinct insights should make portable gaming fans raise an eyebrow or three. Considering the expanding popularity of high-powered gaming slates, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Elite series’ apparent excellence at emulation, the stage is set for a battle of epic rendering proportions — and who better to serve as a major combatant than the most successful Android manufacturer in recent history?
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What’s holding back the folding tablet?
Just do it, Samsung. You know you want to
Source: GPD
Then there’s the GPD Win 4’s Sidekick-reminiscent, sliding form factor, for all us x86 nerds who insist on way too much.
As if we needed more convincing, this isn’t even a new concept from Samsung. Back in the olden days of 2021, it openly addressed its desire to dabble in gaming consoles. Samsung Display makes truly excellent OLED screens, and Nintendo clearly makes a successful partner. But if the world’s top Android smartphone developer has the screen, processor, UI experience, and software framework at its in-house fingertips, what else is there to master?
Samsung Galaxy tablets and phones don’t all necessarily boast absolute industry-leading performance, but owners love them for the well-rounded engineering and gestalt approach to the user experience. Is it really so hard to believe it could branch out into dedicated gaming handhelds, leverage its incredible talent and resources, and release a device that either climbs straight to the top of the mountain, or delivers major mass-market appeal? Do you really think Samsung would let Acer dive into the shark’s tank (alongside MSI still swimming, too) without producing its own ultra-polished offering?
And what if that device folds in half to fit in your pocket? Things certainly seem to be heating up around here, and as lifelong gamers, we’re absolutely ready for a Samsung vs. Xbox gaming handheld showdown.
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