Samsung is rumored to unveil its next-generation handset, presumably the Galaxy S4, at 2013’s Mobile World Congress in February. However, even more interesting than when the smartphone may launch is the significant spec bump it could see.
The Galaxy S3 successor may feature eight processor cores, according to EE Times. This is double the amount of processors featured in high-end smartphone such as the Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 and S3 handsets, which are based on quad-core chipsets.
The Korean news source recently reported that Samsung is crafting a new processor that could expand on the companion core build found in Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chipset. Rather than packing a quad-core processor and a fifth core unit for background processing, Samsung could be planning to sandwich two quad-core chips into one offering, allowing for double the power.
The processor would also be the first chipset to use ARM’s big.LITTLE technology, which combines high performance with power efficiency to extend battery life.
Specifically, Samsung is believed to pair four Cortex -A15 cores with four Cortex-A7 cores. These higher-powered A15 chips are expected to perform the more demanding and daunting operations of a smartphone. The lower-powered Cortex A7s, however, would deal with daily tasks that do not require much battery power, the report says.
Back in August, it was reported that ARM already had two eight-core chips in the works: the T628 and T678. But what does this mean for mobile device users? These processors are said to be 50 percent more powerful than their predecessors without draining any additional power. These eight-core processor chipsets could even feature the potential to boast “console class gaming” for smartphones and support video workloads of up to 4K and 8K.
In addition to speculation about the processing power, Samsung may pack into its Galaxy S3 successor, rumors have also indicated that it could come with a 13-megapixel camera. Back in September, the Korea Times reported that Samsung will be unveiling a 5-inch Galaxy S4 at the Mobile World Congress in February, but Samsung later denied these rumors via Twitter.
“Please note that some media reported speculation that the Galaxy S’s subsequent models will be released,” read the tweet, which called the report “a simple rumor [that] is not true.”
Despite whether or not Samsung decides to release any new smartphones this spring, the development of eight-core processors is likely a sign of what’s to come for mobile tech.
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