In a perhaps unsurprising move, because we’ve been predicting it for a months already, Samsung has just unveiled that the next Galaxy S device will have an Exynos 4 Quad processor with improved graphics performance. The processor is most likely the chip previously known as Exynos 4412, which they said has 50% faster graphics performance.
The chip will run at 1.4 Ghz per core, and they say it will offer double the performance of their previous Exynos 4210 in Galaxy S2, and will use 20% less battery life, by moving to a 32nm process node. Samsung also says they are going to sell the chip to other manufacturers as well, probably in a move to expand their mobile chip business. We’ve already heard that the next Meizu devices will use the Exynos 4 Quad as well.
The Exynos 4 Quad will be capable of full 30fps 1080p video playback and recording, includes support for HDMI 1.4, and also has an embedded image signal processor interface. The video below also shows a reference to Exynos 5 and its 2560×1600 resolution support in the beginning, as well as more benchmarks of the Exynos 4 Quad compared to competitors or Exynos 4 Dual:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndtvyTPIx3Q
Personally, I’m a little disappointed Samsung decided to go the quad core route, just for the sake of marketing hype, even though I think even Qualcomm will fall for it later this year, too. I’d much rather prefer higher clocked dual core processors like Samsung’s upcoming Exynos 5250 or a a dual core S4 Pro chip that is clocked at 2.5 Ghz per core. That kind of set-up would offer the most performance for your buck, instead of sound better in promotions because it has 4 cores vs 2 cores.
Unfortunately, the Exynos 5250 wasn’t ready in time for the Galaxy S3, even though I would’ve preferred they waited for it a few more and blow the next iPhone out of the water, even before it gets launched this fall. I’m still hoping we’ll see that chip in a Samsung phone by the end of the year, though, perhaps the next Nexus device or the Galaxy Note 2.
I also hope Samsung only uses the quad core chip only as a stop-gap until Exynos 5250 arrives, and stops focusing on quad core chips as soon as it does. As soon as they’ve done as much as they could with their dual core offerings (2.5 Ghz), they are free to move to 4 cores next year for Exynos 5 as well.