The Galaxy S22 has suddenly become the most exciting Android phone set to launch in the near future for a specific subset of Android buyers. For one thing, fans of the Galaxy Note series will finally get a brand new smartphone with a built-in stylus. That’s the Galaxy S22 Ultra that appeared in several leaks lately, including recent reports that offered fans actual real-life images and release date information about the phone. Samsung will merge the Galaxy S and Note lines, with the Galaxy S22 series being the first to integrate a Note design. S Pen stylus aside, all Galaxy S22 models will feature the same high-end specs. And now, we have the first clues as to what sort of specs we should expect from the Galaxy S22 series.
Samsung announces LPDDR5X RAM specs
Samsung on Tuesday unveiled the industry’s first LPDDR5X RAM module, announcing that the new memory chip is 1.3 times faster and 20% more efficient than the previous LPDDR5 solution.
“The LPDDR5X solution will broaden the use of high-performance, low-power memory beyond smartphones to AI and edge applications,” Samsung explains in the press release. The memory is “the industry’s first 14-nanometer (nm) based 16-gigabit (Gb) Low Power Double Data Rate 5X (LPDDR5X) DRAM chip,” Samsung explained. The LPDDR5X memory will “high-speed data service applications including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse.”
Samsung advertises data speeds of up to 8.5Gbps compared to LPDDR5’s 6.4Gbps. Also, the company says the new 14nm process technology delivers 20% efficiency gains. Furthermore, the latest 16Gb LPDDR5X chip will let Samsung manufacture 64GB RAM modules going forward.
Samsung doesn’t mention the Galaxy S22 in its press release, of course. But we already know that the Galaxy S21 packs LPDDR5 RAM. So it makes sense to assume that Samsung wants to use faster LPDDR5X memory inside future phones. Given the timing of the announcement, the Galaxy S22 may feature this speedier new memory. Interestingly enough, the iPhone 13 series still uses LPDDR4X RAM.
Will the Galaxy S22 feature Samsung’s first AMD CPU?
Earlier this year, an AMD press conference teaser told us to expect the world’s first phone with an AMD GPU inside. We thought at the time that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 would deliver that sort of upgrade. But that wasn’t the case. The next in line to possibly get the upgrade is the Galaxy S22 series.
While Samsung has announced the availability and specs of the LPDDR5X memory, it’s yet to unveil an Exynos chip of its own to feature an AMD GPU. But Samsung teased a new Exynos chip on Instagram, which will be unveiled on November 19th. Here’s the language Samsung used to tease the upcoming announcement:
Gaming has come a long way. What we used to deem ‘immersive’, relied on a slew of external factors, like the surrounding environment. But the advancements of semiconductors have changed that – learn how, when we move to our new home on Nov. 19th.
With gaming graphics continuing to evolve let’s show you what entertainment will look like in the future. Everything changes on November 19th, 2021
It’s absolutely clear that Samsung plans an Exynos announcement with a big focus on the GPU. That’s become an important trend in the industry, with Apple having also delivered significant upgrades with the M1 Max and M1 Pro chips that power the 2021 MacBook Pros.
With that in mind, it makes sense to assume that the Galaxy S22 specs will include a more powerful GPU. The November 19th Exynos announcement also comes right in time for the Galaxy S22 release. But we’ll have to wait and see if Samsung’s new chip will feature AMD tech.
The Galaxy S22 chip
On the other hand, there have been rumblings recently that Samsung will only use the Snapdragon 898 in Galaxy S22 handsets. If true, it would mark a significant departure from Samsung’s SoC strategy for the Galaxy S series. Samsung has paired the latest Snapdragon chip with a brand new Exynos equivalent for Galaxy S handsets. The company made a big deal earlier this year about improving the Exynos flagship chips. And it’s working with Google on the custom Tensor chip inside the Pixel 6 phones.
I got the new news that Exynos2200 still exists in Galaxy S22 Series in some countries and regions.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 8, 2021
With that in mind, it would make sense to see Samsung include a next-gen Exynos chip in the Galaxy S22’s specs list. Maybe the November 19th event will help clear up this confusion.
