VR for all? Virtual reality may lead smartphones to a new peak

On May 31, according to foreign media reports, mobile processor architecture design company ARM recently released a new mobile processor chip architecture Cortex-A73 and the corresponding graphics and image processing engine architecture Mali-G71. Both have enhanced the support for mobile virtual reality. Chips designed and manufactured based on the corresponding architecture are expected to be used in the flagship models launched by major smartphone manufacturers in 2017, which also means that the mobile virtual reality experience will reach a new level.

If you've tried virtual reality, whether or not it's a brain-bending experience depends entirely on the device you're using: a high-end headset like the Oculus Rift or a smartphone like the Samsung Gear VR.

Although the latest flagship phones can provide consumers with VR experience, there are still some shortcomings. Latency is a key problem that needs to be solved for mobile VR, because the immersive feeling of VR requires high processor performance. In addition, the current mobile VR does not support interaction, which means that users cannot get an immersive experience through mobile VR, especially for VR games. Furthermore, even if manufacturers have done their best to improve the resolution of the mobile phone display screen, when the screen is only one inch away from the user's eyes, the user can still see individual pixels one by one.

In short, in order to bring consumers a true virtual reality experience, smartphone manufacturers need to improve the performance of their phones to a higher level. Now, the mobile processor architecture provided by ARM can help all smartphone manufacturers solve this technical problem.

ARM, a mobile processor architecture design company, has designed almost all the mainstream mobile processors in the world. Recently, it launched the Cortex-A73, a new mobile processor chip architecture for virtual reality functions. In addition, ARM also released the corresponding graphics and image processing engine architecture Mali-G71. Although ARM regularly updates its chip architecture every year, there is no doubt that improving support for virtual reality this year is the architectural design concept of ARM's new mobile chips.

"Normally, we think about upcoming use cases," said Simon Segars, ARM CEO, at a briefing on chip architecture. "But when you think about the development trends of technologies such as virtual reality and augmented display, you will find that system latency is the number one problem that users need to solve when using virtual reality headsets. You turn your head and the image in front of you changes. Any delay in the system will affect the user experience. Refresh speed is key, and you certainly don't want any flickering in the displayed image."

It is reported that the architecture of ARM's two new chip designs not only improves performance, but also saves energy. According to data, compared with the previous generation Cortex-A72, the Cortex-A73 has a 30% improvement in power efficiency and a 30% improvement in performance. The new generation of image processing engine Mali-G71 has a 50% improvement in performance and more than 20% improvement in power efficiency, which will undoubtedly improve the support of mobile chips for virtual reality. In particular, the improvement in power efficiency is crucial, because in the end, the display of mobile virtual reality will not be much different, and power consumption will become the main factor affecting user experience.

VR for All, Will Virtual Reality Lead to Another Upsurge in Smartphones?

In fact, ARM does not manufacture chips, so the new mobile chip architecture is just the first step in launching a new generation of smartphones. Chip manufacturers can license ARM's chip architecture design and develop chip products for flagship smartphones to be launched next year. ARM said that it has cooperated with chip manufacturers such as Samsung, MediaTek and HiSilicon, but smartphone chip manufacturer Qualcomm was not mentioned. But ARM also said that there are "other" manufacturers participating in the cooperation.

Will virtual reality save smartphones?

ARM's new chip architecture will create conditions for smartphone manufacturers to develop smartphones that support virtual reality, such as Google's recently proposed Android virtual reality Daydream. It is believed that in the near future, smartphones will generally be equipped with high-performance processing chips, high-resolution 4K screens and low system latency. But the question also arises: will consumers buy it?

It is true that the field of virtual reality has won wide attention from the industry and has also received a lot of funding. However, virtual reality technology is still in its early stages of development, and whether it can become a mainstream technology remains to be seen. Siggs' answer is yes, but he also admits that virtual reality still needs to be further developed, especially its content needs to be improved to a new level.

"Will the relevant VR use cases resonate with consumers? I think they will. But not yet. There is not enough VR content. Games will be the main driver of the rich content. In fact, VR games have created a unique immersive experience for users, but the real killer application has not yet appeared."

The mobile device market is also relying on the development of virtual reality technology. Android and iOS platforms have matured, while the smartphone market is close to saturation. Even Apple, whose growth was once unstoppable, saw its iPhone sales decline last quarter. Smartphone manufacturers are eager to give consumers a reason to upgrade their phones, and the industry generally believes that virtual reality deserves it.

VR for All, Will Virtual Reality Lead to Another Upsurge in Smartphones?

Segars is not concerned about what ARM is doing, noting that even without the drive for virtual reality, consumers want better smartphones.

He said, "Smart mobile devices are developing all the time. Consumers need mobile devices that are lighter and have longer battery life. They don't need smooth general performance, but the best performance. And for this best performance, the longer it lasts, the better."

Even as the mobile device market gradually shrinks, ARM still has a way out. Siggs pointed out that only 45% of ARM's chip architecture designs are mobile chips. Almost every electronic device in the world now needs chips, from TVs to cars to music players. The development of the Internet of Things has given ARM a lot of room for development.

"If our architecture is successful in mobile devices, then we can apply it to other things," Siggs said. "In fact, the exact same chip architecture is used in automotive information systems, and this technology has been successfully extended."

But it should be emphasized that ARM's expectations for virtual reality are no less than those of Google and Facebook. If virtual reality and augmented reality technologies truly become a new way to enhance user experience, then there will undoubtedly be a surge in demand for chips. And ARM's continuous improvement of chip architecture design will continue for many years. The problem then will be how engineers can keep Moore's Law valid once the size of transistors can no longer be reduced. The focus on virtual reality experience will divert people's attention from this issue. (Ning Yu)

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.