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OnePlus partners with Pixelworks for rendering accelerator

OnePlus 12 launches globally in January 2024.

David Harold

The OnePlus 12 smartphone, launching on January 23, 2024, will be the first international phone from a Chinese OEM to be Pixelworks IRX-certified. It will feature the Pixelworks X7 Independent Visual Processor for enhanced gaming and visual experience. The phone will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and will have a 3× zoom telephoto camera. In other news, Pixelworks’ Shanghai subsidiary has appointed Wallace Pai as executive VP and COO.

What do we think? We think the OnePlus 12 international launch will be the first international phone from a China OEM that is IRX-certified. There’s support for over 100 games using Pixelworks’ X7 rendering accelerator, which can deliver mobile gaming at 2K HDR and 120 FPS, the company claims. The phone uses Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor, and the Pixelworks X7 Independent Visual Processor adds post-processing effects in areas like super-resolution, HDR, color handling, etc. Pixelworks calls the approach a distributed rendering architecture, but in the old days, we’d have called it a companion processor.

Pixelworks smartphone
(Source: Pixelworks)
PixelworksX7 Independent Visual Processor and IRX gaming experience drive OnePlus 12 smartphone

OnePlus has partnered with Pixelworks to include the Pixelworks X7 Independent Visual Processor along with the company’s IRX gaming experience on the upcoming OnePlus 12 smartphone.

HDR example
High-efficiency super-resolution and Always-On HDR. (Source: Pixelworks)

X7 uses Pixelworks’ low-latency MotionEngine technology to boost the clarity of low-resolution content using what they call AI Adaptive Display and AI Always-On HDR. As well as Pixelworks’ X7 features, OnePlus will implement their own in-house graphics processing algorithms on the processor. Check out some motion compensation here.

X7 features.
X7 features. (Source: Pixelworks)

“Our goal is to provide users worldwide with the best all-round experience, and central to this are fully immersive visuals delivered through a best-in-class display,” said Kinder Liu, president and COO of OnePlus.

Pixelworks says it enables its HyperRendering feature to deliver 2K super-resolution gaming at a claimed 120 FPS, with 10ms latency and imperceptible frame interpolation, intelligent real-time color calibration, and more.

“OnePlus is our long-term strategic partner. We believe that OnePlus 12 will further extend the boundaries of the visual experience for consumers with its premium picture quality and unparalleled gaming experience,” said Ting Xiong, president of Pixelworks China.

OnePlus 12 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform and OnePlus’ proprietary Trinity Engine. It also features a 3× zoom periscope telephoto camera coupled with the fourth-generation Hasselblad camera for mobile. It is set to launch globally on January 23, 2024, with a launch event in Delhi.

In other Pixelworks news, Pixelworks Shanghai subsidiary PWSH has appointed Wallace Pai as executive vice president and chief operating officer ahead of a planned listing on the Shanghai Star exchange. Pai will be responsible for all engineering and management of the Shanghai business units, reporting directly to the chairman of Pixelworks Shanghai, Todd DeBonis.

Pai most recently served as chairman of Imagination Technologies China, and earlier experience included positions at SMIC, GlobalFoundries, Synaptics, Samsung, Google/Motorola Mobility, Qualcomm, Cadence ,and McKinsey.