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| NVIDIA Tegra 4 | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tegra 4 |
| Developer | NVIDIA Corporation |
| Release | 2013 |
| Architecture | ARM Cortex-A15 |
| Gpu | 72-core GeForce ULP |
| Process | 28 nm |
| Cores | 4 (plus companion core) |
| Clock | up to 1.9 GHz |
| Predecessor | Tegra 3 |
| Successor | Tegra K1 |
NVIDIA Tegra 4 is a mobile system-on-chip introduced by NVIDIA Corporation in 2013 for smartphones, tablets, and embedded platforms. It combined ARM Cortex-A15 CPU cores, a companion low-power core, and a high-density GeForce ULP GPU to target multimedia, gaming, and computational workloads. The SoC aimed to compete with contemporaries from Qualcomm, Samsung, and Apple in the mobile and automotive markets.
The Tegra 4 integrated ARM Holdings' ARM Cortex-A15 quad-core clusters alongside a fifth low-power companion core inspired by designs used in heterogeneous multiprocessing and similar to concepts in ARM big.LITTLE discussions. NVIDIA positioned the design to balance peak performance for workloads characteristic of devices from Samsung Electronics and Sony Corporation with sustained efficiency needs in platforms like those from ASUS and Acer Inc.. The GPU architecture used a variant of NVIDIA's GeForce lineage adapted for ultra-low-power graphics, reflecting heritage from NVIDIA's discrete GPU families that competed in markets alongside products from AMD and Intel Corporation. Tegra 4's integration strategy followed the SoC trends evident in devices from HTC Corporation and Motorola Mobility during the early 2010s.
Tegra 4 included a multi-IP integration: CPU cores licensed from ARM Ltd., an NVIDIA-designed GPU with many shader cores similar in lineage to architectures found in GeForce GTX series design philosophies, a memory controller supporting LPDDR3 comparable to implementations by SK Hynix and Micron Technology, and dedicated multimedia blocks for video encode/decode analogous to engines in chips from Texas Instruments. The package incorporated interfaces for display output and camera subsystems used by OEMs such as Google for Nexus-class devices and suppliers like Foxconn. The SoC also contained integrated controllers for storage interfaces employed by platforms from Samsung Electronics and connectivity modules that paired with wireless solutions from companies like Broadcom Corporation and Qualcomm.
On CPU integer and floating-point workloads Tegra 4 delivered competitive single-thread performance versus contemporaneous chips in devices by Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Incorporated, with benchmark comparisons often referencing suites used in reviews by outlets associated with AnandTech and Tom's Hardware. GPU throughput for OpenGL ES and gaming titles from studios such as Epic Games and id Software showed improvements over Tegra 3, enabling higher frame rates on titles optimized for mobile hardware similar to releases on platforms for Unity Technologies and Unreal Engine demonstrations. Comparative analyses frequently cited synthetic benchmarks employed by reviewers at PCMag and CNET while noting that competitor SoCs from Samsung Electronics (Exynos) and Intel Corporation presented differing trade-offs in integer math, memory bandwidth, and raw shader performance.
NVIDIA emphasized the companion core to reduce idle power akin to strategies discussed in architectures from ARM Ltd. and power-management approaches used by OEMs such as Apple Inc. in mobile products. Thermal profiles in thin tablet designs from ASUS and smartphones from HTC Corporation required active thermal throttling strategies seen in platforms by Sony Corporation and LG Electronics. Reviews from publications like Ars Technica and The Verge measured battery life under web browsing, video playback, and gaming, showing improvements over Tegra 3 in some cases while highlighting higher peak power draw during sustained GPU loads comparable to mobile devices using chips by Qualcomm Incorporated.
Tegra 4 powered consumer devices including tablets and reference platforms from partners such as Nexus (device), SHIELD Portable, and various models produced by ASUS and Acer Inc.. Automotive and embedded interest mirrored efforts by companies like Tesla, Inc. and Bosch to evaluate powerful mobile SoCs for infotainment, though adoption varied as some manufacturers chose alternatives from Texas Instruments or custom silicon from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics. OEM announcements and teardown reporting by firms like iFixit documented Tegra 4 usage in specific models and development kits supplied to hardware partners.
NVIDIA supplied SDKs and tools, building on the CUDA ecosystem from NVIDIA Corporation and offering support for graphics APIs including OpenGL ES and developer toolchains similar to those used by studios cooperating with Epic Games and middleware from Unity Technologies. Platform support interfaced with operating systems such as Android (operating system) and development environments used by engineers at firms like Google and Motorola Mobility. Community and partner documentation paralleled developer resources maintained by organizations like ARM Ltd. and open-source projects hosted by the Linux Foundation.
Critical reception acknowledged Tegra 4's strong single-thread CPU performance and enhanced GPU capability relative to its predecessor, with commentary in outlets such as Engadget and Wired. Commercial uptake was selective, and Tegra 4's legacy influenced NVIDIA's subsequent Tegra K1 and later SoC designs that sought closer parity with desktop-class architectures used in GeForce GTX lines and contributed to NVIDIA's strategy spanning consumer, automotive, and embedded markets. The platform remains cited in retrospectives on mobile SoC evolution alongside competitors from Qualcomm Incorporated, Apple Inc., and Samsung Electronics.
Category:NVIDIA system-on-chips