BEIJING and SAN JOSE, Calif., April 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PXLW), a leading provider of power efficient visual processing solutions, today announced that Xiaomi Blackshark’s flagship and first-ever gaming smartphone incorporates Pixelworks video and display processing technology. Driven by Pixelworks third generation Iris chipset, the Blackshark achieves video and display benchmarks that exceed many of today’s highest performing smartphones. Together, Pixelworks and Xiaomi Blackshark are setting new display performance standards in the rapidly emerging gaming smartphone category.



Powered by Qualcomm’s SnapDragon 845 applications processor, the newly launched Blackshark smartphone is optimized for game play and has an elegant 1920x1080 display. Coupled with its wide color gamut and high frame rate LCD display, the Blackshark allows smartphone gaming enthusiasts to experience the same performance as is available on UHD TVs. Many of these prominent capabilities are enabled and enhanced by harnessing Pixelworks advanced video processing technology, including:

True Clarity™ for bringing smooth, blur-free motion to videos and gaming

True Color™ for providing up to 1 billion accurate, yet vibrant colors

In-line color calibration to achieve a color accuracy where it is impossible to notice differences in actual color vs. displayed color

A comprehensive tone-mapping pipeline to render HDR10 videos true to the creator’s intent

Sophisticated contrast management and sharpness to provide more realistic game play

“We all witnessed the performance wars that pushed console and desktop gaming to unprecedented levels,” said Peter Wu, CEO at Xiaomi Blackshark. “Now that smartphones are taking center stage, mobile gamers expect the same level of performance and enjoyment they’ve historically only experienced on larger devices. With Pixelworks Iris chipset, Blackshark is the first to offer this type of superior user experience on a smartphone.”

Todd DeBonis, president and CEO at Pixelworks added, “Xiaomi-backed Blackshark has released a truly innovative phone that leverages Pixelworks Iris technology to offer users cinematic quality video, true to life color accuracy and bring mobile gaming to a compelling new level. We are excited to have worked closely with Blackshark to enable many of the advanced video capabilities featured on their flagship smartphone.”

At the nexus of technology and imaging quality, Pixelworks two decades of innovation has resulted in a solid IP portfolio of over 535 issued and pending patents and a strong leadership position in the visual display and digital image processing arena. Validated by leading content creators and service providers, the Company’s HDR technology is capable of 1M:1 contrast ratio with 10x improvement in color accuracy and also auto-adaptive to ambient light. Pixelworks MEMC (motion estimation, motion compensation) processing technology enables streaming video up to 60fps (frames per second), eliminating unintended judder and blur. Additionally, Pixelworks market leading color management, display calibration and advanced scaling maintain the fidelity of the image presented on the display, providing the highest picture quality regardless of the viewing conditions.

Xiaomi Blackshark unveiled its gaming smartphone at a launch event in Beijing, China on April 13, 2018. The flagship phone is expected to initially be available for purchase in China and begin shipping on April 20th.

About Blackshark

Blackshark, having obtained investments from Xiaomi, is a high-tech company specializing in the design, development, production and sales of leading-edged gaming smartphones, e-sports smartphones and accessories. The company is devoted to providing a superior experience for gaming enthusiasts. Blackshark, Born for Gaming, aims to push the mobile ecosystem to the limits of innovation to be a very popular and world-class brand for game players. The company is located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen. For more information, please visit the company’s web site at http://www.blackshark.com

About Pixelworks

Pixelworks creates, develops and markets high efficiency visual display processing and advanced video delivery solutions for the highest quality display and streaming applications. The Company enables worldwide manufacturers to provide leading edge consumer electronics and professional displays, as well as video delivery and streaming solutions. The Company is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit the Company’s web site at www.pixelworks.com

Note: Pixelworks and the Pixelworks logo are registered trademarks of Pixelworks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Investor Contact

Shelton Group

Brett Perry, Vice President

P: +1-214-272-0070

E: bperry@sheltongroup.com

Company Contact

Pixelworks, Inc.

E: info@pixelworks.com