Huawei's GPU Turbo update will bring gaming performance to your smartphone next month

Today, Huawei provided a schedule for its upcoming GPU Turbo update, which promises increased gaming performance on its premium handsets. After the update, graphics processing efficiency can be improved by up to 60%, while power consumption will actually be reduced by 30%.

At launch, only two games will be supported by the update, which are PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Other games will be added over time, but those will be announced at a later date.

”Graphics performance is becoming a keystone of mobile devices, powering a wide array of applications, in particular gaming,” said Ryan Lui, AVP, Software Marketing, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Gaming on mobile devices is the platform seeing the most innovation, with users enjoying more sophisticated, beautiful and graphically-demanding games. GPU Turbo makes high-end gaming experiences possible while also unlocking the potential for other demanding applications possible such as energy efficient AR/VR for shopping, learning and fun.”

According to IDC, in 2017, more than twice as much money was spent on mobile gaming than on PC gaming, and almost four times as much was spent than on console gaming. It makes up 42% of the $108.9 billion gaming market, for a total of $46.1 billion.

This is why we've been seeing such a push for gaming smartphones from companies like Razer and ASUS. But instead of introducing 'gaming' hardware that frankly isn't that different from other premium handsets, Huawei is optimizing the software on its existing portfolio of handsets, which already have custom processors.

You'll be able to get Huawei's GPU Turbo update in the following timeframes: