Is Samsung Ditching Qualcomm Chips For The Galaxy S6?

Mike Moore,

Upcoming flagship device set to feature own-brand Samsung processor, according to reports

Samsung’s hotly-anticipated flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone may be set for a revolution in power following reports that the device is set to get a new processor.

Speaking to unnamed sources, Bloomberg reports that the device will no longer sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which have powered the previous Galaxy S devices, including last year’s Galaxy S5, in favour of a processor made in-house.

Samsung reportedly tested the Snapdragon 810, Qualcomm’s latest chipset, but decided against using it, sources close to the manufacturing process said.

qualcomm snapdragon dragon and chipSwitch-up

A Qualcomm spokesman declined to comment on the report, but if true, the news will be a blow to the company.

The Snapdragon 810 is Qualcomm’s top of the line processor, featuring its most powerful specifications to date, and is set to begin appearing in devices later this year.

Last month, the company revealed that the chip will be able to support Category 9 LTE Carrier Aggregation connectivity, meaning that devices powered by iy will be able to experience download speeds of up to 450Mbps, a significant upgrade from the current market highs of around 300Mbps.

Qualcomm says that the new chip will also provide quicker application performance and improved power efficiency, and is its first to support both a fully-integrated 64-bit multicore ARM CPU and LTE-Advanced multimode modem.

A Samsung spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumours, but speculation surrounding the Galaxy S6 has been increasing in recent months as anticipation grows for the device, which could be revealed in March at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona.

Samsung has not released a flagship device since last year’s MWC, and the South Korean manufacturer has struggled in what has become an increasingly crowded mobile device market.

However there has also been speculation that the company will focus on launching a family of new budget smartphones, the Galaxy J range, as it looks to claw back some of its hold in the worldwide market.

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