ARM: Mobiles will be graphically equivalent to PS4/Xbox One by 2017

ARM ecosystem director Nizar Romdan has said that his company's chips will be bringing mobile displays to a graphical parity with PS4 and Xbox One by the end of 2017.

Speaking at Casual Connect in Amsterdam, the executive said that mobile processors were already providing better quality graphics than the PS3 and 360, and could be expected to exceed the current gen by late next year. Of course, as the leading chip designer for portable graphical devices, Romdan has a significant dog in the fight, but the pace of progress is hard to deny.

Romdan did admit that issues such as battery life and form factor will mean that consoles will always serve a use case out of reach for mobile, which is unlikely to ever replace a TV as a long-session seated home entertainment solution. However, the development of VR technology, which is already seeing great success on mobile devices, means that there will be an area where mobile can compete directly with the living room.

"Our view is that mobile VR is the use case that could unlock the potential of mobile for hardcore gamers," said Romdan. "For once, mobile devices are on par with PC and consoles in terms of experience. We won't have the same processing. And battery life is a problem. But it is the same user experience. That could be a game changer for mobile gaming."