Samsung is making most of the headlines with the launch of the Galaxy S4 — despite its rivals best attempts to shoot it down — but the Korean firm has announced another piece of significant news; its Exynos 5 Octa chip will begin mass production in Q2 2013.
The chip — which will be manufactured using a 28nm design — was heralded as big news when first announced and shown off in prototypes at CES in January, taking the dual-core Exynos V processor — in the Nexus 4 — to the next level. The processor features four Cortex-A15 cores that provide power for intensive activity — such as taking photos or gaming — while four energy-efficient cores handle less intensive activity, such as Internet browsing, watching videos or playing music.
The benefits will be seen the Galaxy S4, which is powered by the chipset, but once it is in mass production it will be able to make its way to other devices.
Samsung says that its architecture can provide up to 70 percent energy saving, to help make battery juice go longer and give devices greater license to do more — two key points that TNW’s Matthew Panzarino highlighted as perennially troublesome for the smartphone industry.
“With today’s advanced display technology transitioning toward ever higher and sharper resolutions, the Exynos 5 Octa is powerful enough to drive WQXGA (2560×1600) display, the best crystal-clear resolution currently available for mobile devices, enabling users to enjoy crisper video images on their premium smartphones and tablets,” an announcement from Samsung read.
The technology is a little easier to comprehend with a visual aid. Here’s the video that Samsung produced for Mobile World Congress last month.
Headline image via popculturegeek/Flickr, other via Samsung
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