NVIDIA Announces Tegra 4: Quad Core Cortex A15 CPU, 72 Custom GPU Cores

NVIDIA’s Unveils the Quad Core Tegra 4

NVIDIA officially unveiled the highly anticipated Tegra 4 at its CES 2013 presser yesterday. The Tegra 4 claims to be the fastest mobile processor in the world and has the chops to back it up. It features the first Quad Core Cortex A-15 processor which offers 2.6 times better performance for web browsing and apps. The Tegra 4 also has 72 custom GPU cores which can drive higher resolutions as of course, better graphics in everything from apps and games. We should mention that the graphics performance of the Tegra 4 is 6 times that of the Tegra 3.

The new mobile processor also features worldwide 4G LTE (voice and data) with the help of an optional chip, the 5th gen NVIDIA Icera i500 processor. NVIDIA claims the new LTE processor is more efficient and is 40 percent the size of current solutions. Not only that, it will deliver more than 4 times the processing power of the last generation processor.

“Tegra 4 provides enormous processing power and efficiency to power smartphones and tablets, gaming devices, auto systems and PCs,” said Phil Carmack, senior vice president of the Tegra business at NVIDIA. “Its new capabilities, particularly in the area of computational photography, will help improve a whole range of existing products and lead to the creation of exciting new ones.”

NVIDIA has also beefed the graphics capabilities of the system-on-chip. With new computational photography capabilities, Tegra 4 can drive HDR photos and videos by combining the processing power of the CPU, GPU and image signal processor. Images taken with the help of flash in both light and dark environments will be able to take advantage of this new feature.

The Tegra 4 will be more than 45 percent power efficient than its predecessor. It has a second-gen core specifically designed for low power consumption in standard usage. Not only that, it also employs PRISM 2 display technology to deliver the best graphics while reducing the power needed to keep the back light on.

In a nutshell, the key features of NVIDIA’s new Tegra 4 are:

- GeForce GPU with 72 custom cores
- Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, plus a 2nd Generation Battery Saver Core
- Computational Photography Architecture
- LTE capability with optional Icera i500 chipset
- 4K ultra-high-def video support

NVIDIA also announced the Project Shield gaming console

NVIDIA has also announced a handheld gaming console based on the Tegra 4 which will come to the US and Canada markets in Q2 this year. It features a 5 inch screen with 720p visuals and a controller attached to the display similar to the one offered with the Xbox 360. It will run pure vanilla Android and will provide 38 hours of gaming on the battery. More impressive is the fact that it will be able to stream video games on your PC through the GeForce Experience software. There is no word on pricing right now.

Do you think NVIDIA will give other chipsets a run for their money with the Tegra 4? Let us know what you think in the comments below!