AMD has announced plans to bring its latest upscaling technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), to handheld PCs. The company intends to release new Radeon APUs with native FSR 4 support and a specialized version of the upscaler compatible with older integrated graphics chips. Both advancements are slated for availability by the end of 2026.
The initiative aims to enhance the visual quality of games on portable devices. According to AMD Computing & Graphics executive Jack Huynh, speaking with Korean media outlet The Elec, this two-pronged approach will make FSR 4 accessible to a wider range of handheld gaming hardware. The "lightweight" version of FSR 4 is particularly relevant for existing devices like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go 2, as it's designed to run on current integrated graphics.
FSR 4 has been noted for delivering sharper visuals compared to its predecessor, FSR 3.1, though it may come with a slight performance cost in certain modes. For instance, FSR 4 on Quality mode might run marginally slower than FSR 3.1 on the same setting. However, it still provides a significant performance uplift over native resolution rendering. The improved visual fidelity of FSR 4 could potentially make its Performance and Ultra Performance modes more viable on smaller handheld screens, possibly leading to higher overall frame rates if visual clarity is maintained.
Support for the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, which utilize older RDNA 2 architecture, is expected to arrive later. AMD has previously indicated that bringing FSR 4 to RDNA 2 graphics chips will likely take until 2027, a year later than the projected timeline for newer architectures like RDNA 3. While it's unclear if the "lightweight" APU version has circumvented these architectural limitations for earlier support, the current outlook suggests a longer wait for Valve's popular handhelds.
Despite the delay for the Steam Deck, AMD has a history of enabling FSR on a variety of hardware. The company's focus for FSR 4's initial release was on its newest desktop graphics cards, particularly those based on RDNA 4 architecture. However, exceptions have been made, such as FSR 4 being retroactively added to the Steam Machine via a firmware update, though this was facilitated by Valve's custom hardware development and the technology's existence at the time of implementation.
