Samsung Galaxy S8 will probably be the fastest smartphone in the world when it launches early next year, as it’ll sport a new generation of chips. Or better said, it’ll certainly be the fastest Android phone, as there’s always a chance Samsung’s most recent flagship device won’t be able to surpass the latest iPhone in real-life performance tests.
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The Galaxy S8 is expected to feature next-generation 10nm chips made by Samsung (the new Exynos 8895) and Qualcomm (the new Snapdragon 830), The chips will be faster than the 14nm processors found in this year’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy Note 7 phones, and even more battery friendly.
The iPhone 8 is also expected to feature a 10nm Apple A11 chip made by TSMC. Meanwhile the iPhone 7 has a 16nm processor, the A10 Fusion, which currently has no rival in the mobile market. The A10 Fusion is also built by TSMC on 16nm FinFET technology.
Samsung, which has an on and off relationship with Apple when it comes to providing silicon for mobile devices, on Thursday unveiled its mobile chip roadmap for the near future. Samsung is working on new 14nm, 10nm, and 7nm chips that will be found in upcoming gadgets made by Samsung and other companies.
“Samsung’s fourth-generation 14nm process technology, 14LPU, delivers higher performance at the same power and design rules compared to its third-generation 14nm process (14LPC),” the company said. “14LPU will be optimally suited for high-performance and compute-intensive applications.”
The 10nm chips are the more interesting new processors set to debut from Samsung, as they’re likely to be found in a variety of products in the near future, with the Galaxy S8 being one of the first to get one. Samsung said it’s third-generation 10nm process “10LPU will provide area reduction compared to its previous generations (10LPE and 10LPP). Due to limitations of current lithography technologies, 10LPU is expected to be the most cost-effective cutting-edge process technology in the industry.”
Samsung is also working on the mobile chip of the future, built on 7nm process technology. The company said it updated its 7nm process development in preparation for a new generation of mobile processors, and it recently showcased its latest 7nm wafer. Aside from the upcoming Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones that will receive 10nm and 7nm chips in the next couple of years, it’ll be interesting to see if Samsung can win back iPhone chip orders.
