The next generation of AMD Radeon graphics cards will utilize a new architecture and also support the HDMI 2.2 standard. An HDMI 2.2 output can transmit up to 96 Gbps, allowing for higher resolutions and refresh rates compared to the previous standard, HDMI 2.1b, which maxes out at 48 Gbps.
There is such a significant difference between the two standards that HDMI 2.2 essentially doubles the bandwidth of HDMI 2.1b. The version of HDMI 2.2 that AMD will implement in the new Radeon cards is expected to offer a bandwidth between 64 Gbps and 80 Gbps. While this wouldn’t be the most advanced version, it would be enough to support 8K resolution with a high refresh rate.
Enhanced Visual Performance and Unified Architecture
With a 96 Gbps bandwidth, HDMI 2.2 can deliver 4K resolution at up to 480 Hz, or 8K resolution at 240 Hz. In contrast, HDMI 2.1b supports up to 8K at only 60 Hz.
The HDMI 2.1 standard is currently used in the Radeon RX 9000 series, based on the RDNA 4 architecture. The next-generation Radeon RX graphics cards will be built on a new architecture named UDNA. According to rumors, UDNA will unify the RDNA and CDNA architectures—previously used separately for Radeon GPUs and Instinct accelerators.
Thanks to this architectural unification, AMD is expected to achieve significant advancements in performance and specialization, particularly due to new cores designed for AI processing and ray tracing.
The launch of the first graphics cards based on the UDNA architecture is anticipated sometime in 2026, or possibly in early 2027.
