AMD squeezed a lightweight FSR 4 model onto handhelds, but older devices might miss out

Published Oct 8, 2026, 6:16 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary AMD will bring a lightweight FSR 4 to APUs, gaming laptops, and handhelds by the end of the year (pre‑2027). Lightweight FSR 4 could fit older handhelds, but AMD hasn't confirmed updates to existing devices. AMD will expand FSR 4 across existing APUs and new product lines; exact rollout details remain unclear. Back when AMD brought FSR 4 to GPUs (including retroactively adding it to older models), AMD said it was a little skeptical about squeezing the same tech onto handhelds. It never explicitly stated it would never bring FSR 4 to devices such as handhelds, but it never outright confirmed that it would, either. Now, AMD has announced a new lightweight version of FSR 4 for handheld APUs, and while it sounds like the tech may now be small enough to fit on older handhelds, we still don't know for sure if AMD can, or will, bring the tech to existing handhelds. AMD's FSR 4 will arrive on "APUs, gaming laptops, and handheld devices" before 2027 It may just be new models that will get it, though As spotted by The Verge, Korean publications such as TheElec reported that Jack Huynh, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD’s Computing & Graphics Group, spoke at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan. During the meeting, Huynh said the following (machine-translated from Korean): "We will expand the machine learning AI-based FSR4 technology, which was first introduced to existing external graphics cards, to the entire product line, including APUs, gaming laptops, and handheld devices, by the end of this year. We plan to respond in two directions: launching existing APUs and new product lines." To achieve this, AMD will release a lightweight version of FSR 4 designed to run off APUs. But if the company is going that far, is it possible that it could add FSR 4 to older hardware, as it did with GPUs? Unfortunately, Huynh neither confirmed nor denied this would happen; just that we'll see something before 2027 comes around. Maybe it's only for new devices, or maybe not; either way, we've reached out to AMD for context, so stay tuned.