Samsung May Swap Exynos Chip For Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 In U.S. Model Galaxy S7
You don't need us to tell you that not all smartphones aren't created equal, but did you know that's even sometimes true of the same model shipping to different markets? Samsung has been known to use multiple chipsets in the same model smartphone shipping to different territories, and its forthcoming Galaxy S7 smartphone might be the next handset to go down that road.
Citing South Korea's Electronic Times and its unnamed industry sources, Reuters reports that Samsung will use two different mobile processors in the Galaxy S7. Models shipping to the U.S. market and China will reportedly rock Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC), while those sold in other markets will use Samsung's own Exynos processors.
Samsung did something similar with its Galaxy S5 handset. That model actually used three different processors. Models shipping in the U.S. used Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 processor, while models shipping to some other territories used Samsung's own Exynos 5 Octa 5422. There was also an LTE-Advanced version released in South Korea that used a Snapdragon 805 chip.
Even though using multiple processors in the Galaxy S7 wouldn't set a precedent, it would be a deviation from the Galaxy S6 line released earlier this year, all of which use Exynos hardware. Prior to launching the Galaxy S6, it was reported that Samsung ran into overheating issues using Qualcomm's latest SoC, which at the time was the Snapdragon 810. Qualcomm shot down multiple overheating reports (it wasn't just Samsung that complained), but Samsung was set in its decision.
The good news for Qualcomm is that Samsung left the door open to using its hardware sometime in the future. If the aforementioned industry sources are correct, that time will come with the Galaxy S7 arrives next year.
Citing South Korea's Electronic Times and its unnamed industry sources, Reuters reports that Samsung will use two different mobile processors in the Galaxy S7. Models shipping to the U.S. market and China will reportedly rock Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC), while those sold in other markets will use Samsung's own Exynos processors.
Samsung did something similar with its Galaxy S5 handset. That model actually used three different processors. Models shipping in the U.S. used Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 processor, while models shipping to some other territories used Samsung's own Exynos 5 Octa 5422. There was also an LTE-Advanced version released in South Korea that used a Snapdragon 805 chip.
Even though using multiple processors in the Galaxy S7 wouldn't set a precedent, it would be a deviation from the Galaxy S6 line released earlier this year, all of which use Exynos hardware. Prior to launching the Galaxy S6, it was reported that Samsung ran into overheating issues using Qualcomm's latest SoC, which at the time was the Snapdragon 810. Qualcomm shot down multiple overheating reports (it wasn't just Samsung that complained), but Samsung was set in its decision.
The good news for Qualcomm is that Samsung left the door open to using its hardware sometime in the future. If the aforementioned industry sources are correct, that time will come with the Galaxy S7 arrives next year.
