Samsung still isn’t sure whether or not people actually need 64-bit processors in their smartphones and tablets, but the company plans to build and launch one anyway in 2014. Apple became the first company to make a 64-bit smartphone widely available when it launched the iPhone 5s last year, and a subsequent report claimed that the move set off panic across the industry. Samsung was quick to state that it would follow in Apple’s footsteps and launch its own 64-bit mobile devices, but the company seemingly couldn’t develop its new chips quickly enough to debut one in the new Galaxy S5. The company is still hard at work on 64-bit chipsets though, and it says its first such effort will debut later this year.
According to a report from CNET, Samsung has confirmed two new details surrounding its first 64-bit effort. First, it is developing a 64-bit chip set to become available in 2014. Second, it will launch the chip despite the fact that the company is still not convinced people actually need 64-bit chips in mobile devices.
“64-bit is very important … in the sense that there’s a real demand, whether you need it or not,” vice president of marketing for Samsung’s system LSI business Kyushik Hong said during the annual Mobile World Congress trade show this week. “We are very actively working on it.”
Hong continued, noting that the Android isn’t yet ready for 64-bit processors but Samsung’s new chip will be set to debut by the time Google’s mobile platform is updated. “Our chip will be ready whenever the operating systems and ecosystem go 64-bit,” he said. “We’re pretty sure we’re not going to be the bottleneck for that.”
