Pixelworks Announces First Soft Iris Launch in ROG Phone II

Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW), a leading provider of advanced power-efficient visual processing solutions, today announced that the recently launched ROG Phone II is the world’s first smartphone to utilize Soft Iris technology from Pixelworks, incorporating industry-leading color calibration and HDR tone mapping to deliver a superior visual experience to gaming enthusiasts. Running on the flagship Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Plus Mobile Platform and offered in conjunction with Tencent Games, a division of Tencent, ROG Phone II also features Pixelworks’ Enhanced Dynamic Range capability, which exposes richer color and highlights and reveals greater detail in dark areas for videos and games, enabling consistently higher quality across a wider array of SDR content.

The Pixelworks Soft Iris solution builds on four prior generations of commercially-proven display software utilized in the Company’s Iris family of visual processors for mobile devices with both AMOLED and LCD displays. Soft Iris provides ROG Phone II users with a superior viewing experience, including:

• The most color accurate display in the industry. True, precise colors make the game playing experience more immersive.
• Market-leading HDR10 tone mapping with the capability of accurately displaying up to 1 billion shades of color.
• Enhanced dynamic range to provide improved contrast and richer colors when viewing non-HDR content.
• An auto adaptive display that dynamically adjusts screen brightness and color tone to changes in ambient lighting, for optimized viewing in different environments.

Bryan Chang, Head of Phone Business Unit at ASUS, commented, “Following the success of our first gaming smartphone, our ROG loyal fans expect second-to-none display quality from Republic of Gamers to enhance their gaming and entertainment experience. We are glad to continue our partnership with Pixelworks in order to provide the most accurate, feature-rich visual experience available in the mobile gaming industry.”

“As the first partner to launch a smartphone with our new Soft Iris solution, ROG is taking visual quality to the next level for gamers with our industry-leading color accuracy and HDR tone mapping,” said Anthony Gioeli, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Video Devices, Pixelworks. “Gaming enthusiasts are demanding better displays and more realistic visual detail on their mobile phones. We are excited to have worked closely with ROG on this development and set a new standard of display quality in the mobile gaming market.”

Earlier this year, Pixelworks entered into an agreement with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, to provide superior display color accuracy via Pixelworks’ high-efficiency display calibration when incorporated into select Snapdragon mobile platforms. Pixelworks Soft Iris features offer OEMs a comprehensive color management solution with tone mapping for all standard and customized HDR and SDR color spaces, including sRGB, DCI-P3 and BT.2020, as well as ambient light and color temperature adaptation and custom tuning across mobile use cases.

By providing an optimized viewing experience in all color gamuts, Soft Iris enables smartphones to accurately display the broadest possible range of true-to-life color. Additionally, Pixelworks’ unique Enhanced Dynamic Range feature for the ROG Phone II provides superior color and detail across a large array of widely available SDR content.

ROG and Tencent Games announced and officially launched the ROG Phone II on July 23, 2019.

About ROGRepublic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers and peripherals. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Learn more about the choice of champions at http://rog.asus.com.

About PixelworksPixelworks provides industry-leading display processing and video delivery solutions and technology that enable highly authentic viewing experiences with superior visual quality. The Company has a 20-year history of delivering image processing innovation to providers of leading-edge consumer electronics, professional displays and video streaming services. Pixelworks 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.

Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.

Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Investor Contact:Brett L PerryShelton GroupP: 214-272-0070E: [e-mail]

Media Contact:Agnes ToanPixelworks, Inc.E: [e-mail]