Qualcomm Details Next Gen Snapdragon S4 CPU

Qualcomm has released first details about its next-generation mobile processors, which are expected to compete with Nvidia's Kal-El processor.

The Snapdragon S4 processor will arrive as a 28 nm chip that will integrate two Krait CPUs in its first version (MSM8960). Krait will leverage the ARMv7 instruction set, will be compatible with ARM's Cortex-A9 chip, but deliver more performance per CPU cycle, Qualcomm said. Thanks to a new pipeline architecture, Krait will exceed Scorpion's performance by more than 60 percent, the manufacturer promises. An interesting note is that Qualcomm expects the S4 series to "hold peak performance" longer than other processors under a constant workload due to the "efficient use of power" and less power lost to leakage.

Additionally, Qualcomm claims that the S4 series will reduce its power consumption 25 to 40 percent as a result of an asynchronous multi-processor system that can run the two cores at two different voltages. In standby, one core can be entirely "collapsed" and causing that unit to consume zero power.

S4 will also included an upgraded Adreno graphics unit, which has its origins in AMD's Imageon series of graphics processors. The new 225 GPU promises 50 percent more graphics performance when compared to the current 200 - and twice the memory bandwidth of its predecessor. Adreno 225 will support OpenGL ES 1.1, ES 2.0 and DX9.3.