Nexus 10 May Be Upgraded with Quad-Core SoC in February

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By Kevin Parrish
published

Google may address performance issues with the Nexus 10 by releasing an updated model.

Bright Side of News reports that Google will address complaints of an underpowered Nexus 10 tablet by revealing a second generation model during MWC 2013. It will possibly move from a dual-core Samsung chip to a multi-core one packed with an 8-core Mali-T628 GPU. This should help push more content that's compatible with the tablet's monstrous 2560x1600 resolution.

The report stems from a prototype the site fondled during a CES 2013 breakfast with unnamed sources. The proposed T678 GPGPU chip will support OpenCL 1.1, OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0, and Google's Renderscript Compute. It will also be backed by the same 2 GB of RAM and possibly packed into a new chassis. The prototype at hand was believed to be the current chassis on the market.

According to the report, the performance difference in "popular" benchmarks was like "night and day" when comparing the first generation with the prototype. Honestly, the Nexus 10 already seems rather zippy although movie playback is admittedly a little choppy. News of a GPU upgrade is definitely good news, but only for those who haven't already dumped over $400 in the Nexus 10 tablet.

"The final design of the [chassis] (Google currently does not have final versions of the chassis) should address the shortcomings of the original design, even though we were told that the company was satisfied with the original design," wrote Theo Valich. "They did agree that the design lacked a bit of "wow factor", but that will probably wait for the third generation."

The first-generation Google Nexus 10 tablet sports a dual-core Samsung Exynos 5 SoC (Cortex-A15, Mali-T604) clocked at 1.7 GHz. It also has 2 GB of RAM, a 1.9MP camera on the front, a 5MP camera on the back, and a 10.1-inch screen with a 2560 x 1600 default resolution (300 ppi). Also under the hood is Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, NFC technology, and dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity.

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Kevin Parrish
11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • chuckydb
    Now we'll be able to firmly say it is better than the Note 10.1
    Reply
  • kenyee
    How long before we get 802.11ac and USB 3.0 support?
    Reply
  • mt2e
    performance issues? how'd they drop the ball on video playback when thats all some people do....gesh
    Reply
  • house70
    Didn't notice any video playback issues on my wife's N10... but more power is good to have.
    Reply
  • phate
    Title says quad-core, article says 8 core?

    edit: never mind reading fail, multi-core with 8 core GPU.
    Reply
  • CrArC
    kenyeeHow long before we get 802.11ac and USB 3.0 support?A long time. You can't just add it - you need a SoC which supports these features (these do not yet exist, really), or you need to tie up the limited resources in your existing hardware, bolting standalone chippery onto the available buses. This second option negatively affects battery life, design complexity, reliability, cost, weight and probably performance to some degree.

    In other words, we're better without for the time being.
    Reply
  • rgeiken
    I have watched lots of video on my Nexus 10, and have not noticed that I can't handle things. Of course if you can go to a more powerful processor in a new model, that is probably the way to go. After all, the competitors are boasting about their quad processors, so Google might as well move ahead too. NO matter what, I am very happy with my current Nexus 10 and not likely to update for that improvement, but obviously people that has much less effective devices may opt for that. I like having 2 gig (Actually about 1.6 available to user) of ram, and there are some nifty programs to flush ram that can bring you back from about 200+ Meg to over 1 gig again. I jump around in programs pretty frequently and with my 84 apps can do almost anything that I want to right now. I am always looking for new apps that will do things that I like, but after filling up recently not finding many more just have to have applications. Surprisingly all of my current apps are free, but will be willing to spend for any app that looks worth it's cost. A lot of the apps are intended to get you to buy things, these are usually free. I currently have apps for all the stores that are in my local mall and they are simple and easy to use. You install a vendors app on your Android Device and the vendor is as close as the end of your arm. You can buy at the store or on line easily. Waiting to see the new Nexus 10 with Quad Core. That should send Apple scrambling to keep up.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    i knew the processor they placed in there was heavily underpowered. now imagine google's track record... if they release a new nexus 10, is it possible that they will let the current users replace it with a new one or maybe even let them keep the old one for free?????
    Reply
  • rgeiken
    Since I don't play any games, the dual core processor seems to work fine for me. It actually is pretty smooth most of the time. Most delays seem to be due to download time on the Internet although I have a fast cable internet connection. I just wonder how they will configure these devices in another 4 to 5 years. I have 2 i7 W7 computers, and glad to have the 8 core processors. My Nexus 10 is not going to be doing the heavy lifting like the Windows computers do. I know the Nexus 7 is fun to use, and when my memory gets a little low due to all the jumping around that I do at times, I can go to one program and it allows me to recover memory. I can go from less than 200 meg to 1.06 or so just by clicking one button. It is nice to be able to terminate so many applications that quickly. If there is any app that I want to start again, it gets working again quickly. The Nexus 10 with 4.2.1 Jelly Bean is a really fast machine and a lot of fun to use. I wanted a Tablet, and the Nexus 10 with the dual processor seemed to offer me the best value. Unless it breaks down, I don't think that it will run any worse a couple of years from now. I have bought tons of computers over the years, and was well able to afford them. I think that I can get many years of service out the Nexus 10 that I have, but buying a new one wouldn't put me in the poor house. I am getting ready to buy a Nexus 7 shortly. I have 2 windows computers, and that should hold me for quite a few years.
    Reply
  • jaslion
    if it has an micro sd port i'm sold
    Reply