The CPUs in our smartphones are always a hot topic because they can have a tremendous impact on how our device operates. Techno Freaks cannot wait to put a new device through speed and graphics tests to see how they stack up against one another and for better or worse, these stats are used to judge the device, even though we all know that stats do not mean everything. The other problem in choosing chips for new devices is that there are very few foundries that produce them. Between the cleanliness needed and chemicals used – they are nasty places to work. GlobalFoundries, TSMC and Samsung are the largest manufacturers in the world and produce most of the chips for chip designers, such as Apple and Qualcomm. Samsung also designs its own Exynos branded chips and they end up in most of the Samsung smartphones sold outside the US, where as the Samsung devices sold in the US have generally used the Qualcomm designed chips – they seem to play better with the 4G LTE networks in the US.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon has been a mainstay in most high-end smartphones in the US, and as we said, Samsung smartphones are no exception. However, there are rumors circulating that the newest Snapdragon 810 is having overheating issues – which Qualcomm denies – and Samsung is leery of using a chip in its flagship that may cause issues down the road. New rumors are circulating that Samsung will pass on the Snapdragon 810 and use their own Exynos chip with its in-house developed 14nm application processor.
Initially they will use their Exynos in about 80-90-percent of the Galaxy S6s, and as Qualcomm solves the overheating issue, Samsung will gradually increase the ratio of devices using the Snapdragon 810. In order for Samsung to use their 14nm processors in time for the Galaxy S6 launch, they will have to move up the 14nm FinFET node technology to production levels during the first quarter of 2015.
Samsung often uses two processors for one device…but Samsung has to be careful, as the launch of the Galaxy S6 will be their most important launch in a while. They would want nothing to mess it up, especially the processor. It will be very interesting to see what decision Samsung makes…do you care what processor they put in you next Samsung device? Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know your thoughts…as always, we would love to hear from you.