Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW), a leading provider of innovative video and display processing solutions, today announced TCL Communication has extended its collaboration with the Company to further advance the display capabilities and performance of its smartphone lineup. Building on the successful launch of TCL’s first branded smartphone at IFA 2019, the partnership brings together the display expertise and manufacturing leadership of TCL and 22 years of video and display innovation at Pixelworks that has become synonymous with best-in-class color, motion and clarity in smartphone displays. The TCL 10 Pro, 10L and 10 5G are the first phones developed under the extended partnership between the two companies.

According to a 2019 study published by Cisco Systems, Inc., smartphones are projected to account for a staggering 50 percent of global video consumption by 2022, up from just 23 percent in 2017. As 5G enables mobile access to richer video and gaming content, consumers will demand smartphones with more advanced, high-performance displays that maximize the visual quality of video and gaming content on advanced, HDR capable screens.

The extended partnership intends to address these challenges by working closely together on end-to-end display performance optimization that leverages Pixelworks’ portfolio of advanced mobile processor and software technologies, HDR tone mapping, SDR-to-HDR conversion, high-efficiency color calibration, sharpness and contrast enhancement. In addition, the collaboration seeks to advance ambient light and tone adaptive display features to preserve overall picture quality and clarity in all kinds of lighting environments, from ultra-low light to bright sunlight.

We expect to bring several next-generation smartphones models to market with TCL in this long-term partnership,” said Todd DeBonis, President and CEO, Pixelworks. “This close collaboration will enable more consumers to enjoy optimized visuals and video in the palm of their hands with cutting-edge cinematic display technologies from TCL and Pixelworks. We are excited to leverage our 20 years of display innovation to bring a truly immersive experience to TCL smartphones.”

Our mission with TCL Mobile devices is to bring moments of Display Greatness to our customers, and this collaboration with Pixelworks builds on our internal expertise to make these display experiences standout on our devices,” said Stefan Streit, General Manager of Global Marketing for TCL Communication. “We look forward to further developments alongside Pixelworks so that more consumers can experience immersive HDR video with absolute color accuracy and enhanced picture quality wherever they go.”

About TCL’s 10 Pro, 10L and 10 5G Smartphones

The recent launch of TCL’s 10 Pro, 10L and 10 5G are the first phones resulting from this extended partnership and utilize a range of Pixelworks’ premium mobile display features including:

  • Industry-leading HDR Tone Mapping for authentic, cinematic picture quality that exposes up to 1 billion shades of color

  • Real-time SDR-to-HDR conversion to enable an HDR-like experience across virtually all video and gaming content

  • Picture Clarity Enhancements that include superior contrast and sharpness that expose hidden details, with an adaptive display that preserves image quality with changes in ambient light

Availability

TCL’s 10 Pro, 10L and 10 5G smartphones are anticipated to be commercially available beginning Q2 2020.