Just over a month after announcing the Tegra 4 processor, Nvidia’s back with another mobile chipset, the Tegra 4i, which comes with an integrated LTE modem. It’s designed specifically for use with smartphones. Where the Tegra 4 is all about raw power for big phones and tablets, the Tegra 4i is a marvel of tiny efficient design.
The key difference between the T4i and the T4 is the integrated i500 LTE modem, which is available as an optional upgrade to the Tegra 4. Importantly, Tegra 4i can only run a 1920×1200 LCD versus the phablet friendly 3200×2000 potential of the Tegra 4. You’ll also be devastated to learn that the T4i only supports 1080p HDMI output, whereas the T4 supports 4k.
The Tegra 4i packs 4 ARM Cortex-A9 CPU cores with a maximum clock speed of 2.3GHz, and 60 GPU cores (compared to 72 on the Tegra 4). The CPU architecture is slightly older than the ARM Cortex-A15 on the Tegra 4, but Nvidia says that it worked with ARM to retool its design to make it the “most-efficient, highest-performance CPU core on the market”. The T4i also has scaled memory, with on 2GB versus 4GB on the T4.
Nvidia will be showing off the Tegra 4i next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We’ll be on hand, and we’ll report back when we’ve seen what it’s capable of. [Nvidia]