Samsung Electronics will be producing Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 820 mobile processors. This might mean that the giant South Korean electronics company will employ back Qualcomm's processor in their next premium handsets.
Samsung Electronics released a statement that it already started the mass production of 14-nanometer LPP (Low-Power Plus) process logic chips. Samsung used to develop their mobile processors (Exynos 8 Octa processor) in-house. Now they are developing both its own processors and also the Snapdragon 820.
As expected, the Snapdragon 820 will be powering high-end Android devices both tablets and smartphones, either next year or a couple of years later. The Snapdragon 820 is also expected to have better graphical prowess (approximately 40 percent increase over its predecessor), a faster integrated modem and power efficiency that should improve battery life significantly.
Both Samsung and Qualcomm did not comment on the possibility that the new Snapdragon processor will power Samsung phones including its flagship series, the Samsung Galaxy. There has been leaks that should confirm the rumors of a Snapdragon-powered Samsung device in the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this February.
"Therefore, I don't believe that the fact the 820 is built by Samsung increases its chances of being in the SGS7," Peter Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said. Moorhead has this conclusion because he thinks that a chip fabrication deal may not directly mean that Samsung will be using Qualcomm chips in the Galaxy S7 handset.
Prior to the Exynos processor, Qualcomm provides the processors for Samsung handset for several of its Android devices. Only in Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones that the South Korean electronics company giant used its own in-house processor.
"I do believe Samsung must use the 820 to be more competitive with Apple. 820 hits performance per watt levels Exynos just can't hit," Moorhead added.
