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Samsung is teasing a new version of its flagship Exynos 5 Octa processor, the eight-core chip found in some versions of the Galaxy S 4, with a full reveal of the “more powerful” SoC next week. The new chip, Samsung took to Twitter to gloat about, is billed as an “evolution” of the existing Exynos 5 Octa, though aside from unspecified performance improvements the South Korean company is vague as to what changes we can expect.

The original Exynos 5 Octa went into production back in March, the first example of ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture. Although the chipset has eight processor cores in total, only four of them are ever active at the same time, depending on what the device is being asked to do.

In high load situations, such as when running games, the Exynos 5 Octa runs as a quadcore Cortex-A15 processor, for maximum performance. However, when less grunt is required – such as polling data connections while the phone or tablet is otherwise idle – a quartet of Cortex-A7 cores are switched on instead, which are less powerful but also more frugal.

There’s more on the Exynos 5 Octa chipset in our SlashGear 101.

One possibility is that the new version of the Exynos 5 Octa will simply increase the clock speed of the two sets of cores. Currently, the A15 cores run at 1.6GHz, while the A7 cores run at 1.2GHz. However, it could also be to do with LTE support, which is only found on select models of the Galaxy S 4 running the Exynos 5 Octa.

According to recent rumors, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note III will use the Octa chip in at least some of its variants. We’ll know more about the chip next week, when Samsung details it fully; the Note III will have to wait until September, at least according to the rumor-mill, and its expected IFA 2013 unveil.

Samsung Exynos 5 Octa update teased (in time for the Galaxy Note III) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AMD‘s flagship 5.0 GHz processor, the AMD FX-9560, has gone on sale, though the chip won’t be available as a standalone part for some time. The company will instead offer the new processor through various PC builders, including iBUYPOWER and Maingear, for those who want to be able to tell their friends they have the first commercially-available 5GHz chip.

Back when it was first announced, in June, the FX-9000 series prompted no small amount of questions as to the necessity of such a high clock speed. Whereas, at one time, the gigahertz race was an integral part of AMD and Intel’s battle for computing dominance, in recent years the focus has evolved to consider more real-world relevant tasks.

That’s gone hand in hand with GPU-accelerated processing, where chips that would normally be used for rendering high-resolution games are instead turned to parallel crunching through huge sets of data. AMD itself is experimenting with the idea, as part of its Heterogeneous Computing push.

In contrast, the FX-9560 is about raw speed. That’s still going to appeal to some users, with AMD hoping they’ll head down to AVADirect, Canada Computers, CyberPower, iBUYPOWER, Digital Storm, Extreme PC, Maingear, Memory Express, NCIX, Origin PC, Puget Systems, or Velocity Micro, which are all signed up to use the new processor.

Under the hood the chip has eight of AMD’s Piledriver cores, and comes unlocked for easy overclocking; AMD even supplies the software to do it. However, gamers shouldn’t get too carried away: if they break their processor with an ill-advised overclock, they won’t be covered by AMD’s warranty.

AMD FX-9560 5GHz CPU hits shelves in gaming PCs is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple is said to be using Samsung to build the A9 mobile chips for the iPhone and iPad in 2015, another sign that the firm’s attempts to extricate itself from its rival’s production expertise are struggling. Although Apple had switched to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) for its A-series chip production starting in 2014, according to The Korea Economic Daily it’s Samsung’s expertise in 14nm manufacturing that has won back Apple’s business.

According to the Korean site, Samsung and Apple inked an agreement on July 14, specifically for the Apple A9 chipset expected to be in 2015′s iPhone. The chip will use 14nm “FinFET” technology, it’s said; if Apple’s “S” nomenclature pattern continues, by that point we’ll likely be seeing the iPhone 6S, though the Korean report suggests it will be the iPhone 7.

Apple and Samsung have had a tumultuous relationship over the past few years, spending as much time in the courtroom attempting to extract huge damages payments and have their rival’s devices banned from sale, as they have negotiating components. Samsung has always been a significant supplier for Apple – as well as processors, it supplies flash memory and other components – but since the legal escalations Apple has attempted to broaden its supply chain and avoid giving quite so much money to its Korean foe.

Chipsets had been a bottleneck, despite the ongoing efforts of TSMC, but news of a deal over the upcoming Apple A8 had been seen as a sign that Samsung was being pushed out of its privileged position.

Instead, Samsung’s work on 14nm manufacturing has paid dividends, offering something TSMC reportedly cannot. 14nm chips are expected to offer performance improvements as well as a reduction in power consumption, with a central silicon “fin” running the length of the transistor.

The first devices to use the A9 processors aren’t expected to show up for some time yet, and their specifications haven’t been confirmed. The current iPhone 5 runs Apple’s A6 chip, though the upcoming refreshed version – expected to be the iPhone 5S – is likely to use the newer version, the A6X. That’s currently used in the fourth-gen full-sized iPad, though could be modified for the lower-power requirements of the new iPhone.

VIA MacRumors

Apple’s iPhone 6S could have a Samsung A9 heart (sorry TSMC) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has been personally testing Google Glass and expects the chip company’s silicon to show up in wearables before the end of 2013, though the freshly-installed exec is coy on his predecessors Web TV intentions. “We’re being cautious” Kranich said on the IPTV plans Intel said would launch this year, despite his

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Just because Qualcomm’s gone to plaid (aka. reached ludicrous speed) with its Snapdragon 800 flagship doesn’t mean the company’s been standing still at the other end of the market. The Snapdragon 200 family just received a major boost with the introduction of six new chips geared at China and other emerging markets. Available with dual- and quad-core CPUs, the processors are manufactured using a 28nm process and incorporate HSPA+ (21Mbps) and TD-SCDMA radios. The new SoCs are optimized to provide good multimedia performance and long battery life, with support for dual cameras (up to 8MP rear and 5MP front), multiple SIMs (dual standby, dual active and tri standby), iZat location tech and Quick Charge 1.0. Qualcomm’s Adreno 302 GPU rounds up the spec list, making these chips well suited for devices running Android, Windows Phone and Firefox OS. The company’s expected to begin shipping these new processors (8×10 and 8×12) in late 2013. Full PR after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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