Samsung Galaxy S4 to Have Quad-core Processor in UK
Hope you didn't have your heart set on that octa-core CPU.
Earlier this month, Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 after weeks of teasing. However, while specs were easy enough to find after the event, the company didn't talk too much about the phone's hardware during the press conference itself. Now it seems the specs for the Galaxy S4 may not be the same all around the world.
Pocket-lint reports that though Samsung had said the UK version of the phone would get the octa-core processor it talked about at launch, that is actually not he case. The site now says that it has received confirmation that the UK version of the device won't have Samsung's new 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5.
"Samsung Galaxy S4 is equipped with a 1.9GHz quad-core processor or a 1.6GHz octa-core processor," the company is quoted as saying. "The selection of application processor varies by markets. In the UK, the Galaxy S4 will be available as a 4G device with a 1.9GHz quad-core processor."
Of course, this is not the first time a company has varied the specs of a phone depending on the market. In fact, Samsung itself did the very same thing with the Galaxy S3. The U.S. version of the S3 had a dual-core CPU with 2GB of RAM while versions sold outside of the U.S. swapped that for 1GB of RAM and a quad-core CPU. Usually the reason for regional hardware differences is down to supply or compatibility issues with other features (such as 4G LTE).
The Galaxy S4 is set to launch in the UK on April 26. The Galaxy S4 will pack a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED PenTile display, either a 1.9GHz quad-core processor or a 1.6GHz octa-core processor (depending on the region you're buying the device), 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera, a 2-megapixel camera up front, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and a 2,600mAh battery.

I thought that the USA continually doesn't get Exynos in *their* version of the Galaxy phones and such because Exynos doesn't support LTE like Snapdragon does.
Is this assumption incorrect?
Correcter than my assumption
HTC one appears to be a better phone overall.
I wonder though if the Quad-core in most situations (1 or 2 apps running) will be faster due to its higher clock speed, while the octa-core will be faster when running many apps at once?
The "Octa"-core is just 2 sets of quad-core, one for low-power operations, the other for high performance.
I wonder though if the Quad-core in most situations (1 or 2 apps running) will be faster due to its higher clock speed, while the octa-core will be faster when running many apps at once?
The octa-core is supposedly a dual-quad core with one quad-core Cortex A15 CPU and one quad-core Cortex A7 or A8 CPU (I don't remember the exact number, it's something like that and it's definitely lower than 9) and the quad core, if it is the Snapdragon 600, uses Krait. The quad core at 1.9GHz probably has very similar performance per core to the four A15 cores at 1.6GHz rather than having an advantage. Besides, even if the frequency was the only CPU performance difference between the two, I don't think going from 1.6GHz to 1.9GHz is enough of a jump to visibly see the difference unless there is a software problem. It's only an ~19% increase in frequency.
Also, IIRC, Samsung is only using the second, low power quad core in the Exynos 5 SoC in a similar manner to Nvidia Tegra 3's fifth low power core rather than using it to augment the performance of the more powerful Cortex A15 quad core CPU.
As far as HTC one is concerned the battery has already failed as it can't be replaced. Lithium is only good for about 500 charges or 1.5 years. Then your HTC one is a paperweight in half a day. Planned obsolescence don't fall for it.
Wanted that PowerVR 544MP3 GPU
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Also, IIRC, Samsung is only using the second, low power quad core in the Exynos 5 SoC in a similar manner to Nvidia Tegra 3's fifth low power core rather than using it to augment the performance of the more powerful Cortex A15 quad core CPU.
There were rumours that Samsung could choose to allow all the 8 cores to work together, based on workload. All that needed was a firmware update,there isnt anything inherent in the Big.little config that only 4 cores can work at a time.
I wonder if there are any highly multithreaded workloads on a smartphone that can use 8 cores.
I think on a mobile, 300mhz is a big jump in clocks, with immediate benefits.
The HTC One is not as good as the Samsung in many ways... no SD card slot, smaller screen, not as good of resolution, its another HTC phone that will let people down after its release.
You would have to pay me to use a W8 phone.
FYI HTC One is an android phone.
For everyone whining about Li-ion failing after a 1.5 years I am running a Nexus S with original battery right now which is over 2 years old and it is still going strong.
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Also, IIRC, Samsung is only using the second, low power quad core in the Exynos 5 SoC in a similar manner to Nvidia Tegra 3's fifth low power core rather than using it to augment the performance of the more powerful Cortex A15 quad core CPU.
There were rumours that Samsung could choose to allow all the 8 cores to work together, based on workload. All that needed was a firmware update,there isnt anything inherent in the Big.little config that only 4 cores can work at a time.
I wonder if there are any highly multithreaded workloads on a smartphone that can use 8 cores.
I think on a mobile, 300mhz is a big jump in clocks, with immediate benefits.
Those weren't rumors, at least not as far as it being possible. It is entirely possible as that is a feature of the big.LITTLE architecture. However, Samsung said that they wouldn't be using that feature on Exynos 5.
300MHz between these CPUs is, again, a mere 19% increase in frequency and it's also coming with an inferior performing architecture, so no, it's not likely to show any gains at all.
It used to be tied to the frequency used by the nation and compliance (per the article) but most of the LTE modems are software tunable.
I can't believe the US population aren't considered power users