The company's Exynos 4212 application processor is based on a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 architecture with a clock speed of 1.5 GHz. The 32 nm production process leverages high-K metal gate technology that allows Samsung to come out with a chip that promises 25 percent more performance with 30 percent less power consumption when compared to the predecessor.
Currently on display at the annual Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum in Taipei, the Exynos 4212 will be sampling to "select customers" in the fourth quarter this year, which would mean that we can expect first smartphones and tablets based on the processor in late 2013.
"As innovative technologies appear on the mobile landscape, the market continues to embrace further developments and performance acceleration in mobile computing," said Seh-Woong Jeong, executive vice president of System LSI sales & marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung is addressing this trend with its powerful low-power Exynos family of processors based on its proven design technology and cutting-edge process technology for performance and power improvements at the system level."
The Exynos 4212 application processor is an apparent departure from quad-core designs, which Samsung pitched in 2010 as 2012 processors and said those chips would enable 3D 1080p displays. There is not much information about this processor - the current generation Exynos can be found as a 1.2 GHz model in the Galaxy S II smartphone, but it will be interesting to see how this chip will compare with the next-generation Qualcomm processors, Nvidia's Kal-El as well as Intel's Atom series. Intel's developers still promise that their Atoms will be faster than their ARM rivals.
