AMD will bring its machine-learning-based image upscaler, FSR 4, to far more hardware by the end of the year — including the handhelds and laptop APUs that previously looked excluded. That is the word from Jack Huynh, AMD's head of client computing, who spoke to the Korean outlet The Elec.
'We will expand the machine learning AI-based FSR4 technology, which was first introduced to existing external graphics cards, to the entire product line including APUs, gaming laptops, and handheld devices by the end of this year,' Huynh said, according to The Verge. AMD plans to respond 'in two directions: launching existing APUs and new product lines' — which The Elec reads as both a new APU and a lightweight FSR4 model for APUs arriving by year's end.
The catch is that it remains unclear whether the tech reaches existing handhelds or requires new hardware. In June, AMD reserved the right to disappoint handheld gamers by declining to officially bring FSR 4 to older handhelds; executive David McAfee told Tom's Guide that AMD needed 'a sufficient amount of compute within that product' for FSR 4 to make sense. Some older laptop chips may therefore qualify while some handheld chips do not — or the feature may depend on upcoming silicon such as the rumoured Ryzen Z3 or a 'Gainsborough' handheld chip.
Valve has said it is working with AMD to bring FSR 4 to the Steam Machine's console-grade APU but has not committed to doing the same for Steam Deck handhelds. AMD did not immediately respond to a request to clarify Huynh's statement, leaving handheld buyers with the question that matters most: will their device get FSR 4 via a software update, or will it take new hardware?
