Samsung has announced the world's first eight-core processor for smartphones and tablets, the Exynos5 Octa.
Announced during its CES keynote, Samsung CEO Stephen Woo unveiled the forthcoming 8-core micro processor, which houses two sets of four-core processors.
The South Korean technology giant said it's been created to run intense apps, while also conserving energy when users run basic tasks. Upon his demo, Woo said one of the key functions of the chip is to allow users to carry out several activities at once while also ensuring that the battery isn't drained too quickly.
He had showcased a search for dining options on a Samsung tablet during the demo, where the device loaded several sites including Urbanspoon and Google Maps, which was done without any disruption in the browser. Woo promised no dropped frames or stutters in HD movie playback will occur.
Woo stressed that the chip delivers a new level of performance on a mobile device and, at the same time, offers up to 70 percent savings on batteries thanks to the new silicon. The Exynos5 Octa also utilizes ARM's Big.Little technology, which combines the ARM Cortex-A7 chip with a more powerful Cortex A-15 multicore chip.
"We believe the right component DNA drives the discovery of what's possible," said Woo. "Components are building blocks—the foundations on which devices are built. We at Samsung's component solutions are creating new, game-changing components across all aspects of devices."
"The new Exynos 5 Octa introduces a whole new concept in processing architecture…designed for high-end smartphones and tablets. When you want multiple applications to perform at their best, you want the best application processor currently available—the Exynos 5 Octa."
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Samsung, which also saw former U.S. President Bill Clinton make an appearance during its keynote, is rumored to be integrating the Exynos5 Octa eight-core chip into the Galaxy S4.
-
fancarolina Octa-core implies 8 cores of equal power. What we have here is a 4+4 Core processor.Reply -
rebel1280 O_OReply
.... O.M.G 8 core phone processor!? Can any phone OS fully utilize 4 yet? Props to Samsung though, 8 > 4 so whatever its in, it will sell. And this after reading AMDs SOC... looks like now you have some ways to go...again. -
tarzan2001 fancarolinaOcta-core implies 8 cores of equal power. What we have here is a 4+4 Core processor.Reply
I agree completely. The companies, however, don't care because to them it's all about marketing. That's why T-Mobile can get away with advertising their data has having "4G" speeds. The masses usually don't notice that they actually say "4G-like" speeds. Same thing with this processor. It's all in the fine print. But still...I'm not due for a new phone until summertime, so I'm eagerly awaiting to see what the Galaxy S4 will finally be like when it's released! :D -
keither5150 My wife will be getting this phone. I will have to wait as I am enjoying the current champ.... the note 2.Reply
Please add that flexible wrap around display in there. That would be sick. -
Camikazi fancarolinaOcta-core implies 8 cores of equal power. What we have here is a 4+4 Core processor.That is how it has been used but no where does it say they have to be of equal power just that up till now it was always the easiest way to do it. Multi-core just means more than one core in a single physical unit it does not mean they have to be identical cores just more than one.Reply -
fancarolina CamikaziThat is how it has been used but no where does it say they have to be of equal power just that up till now it was always the easiest way to do it. Multi-core just means more than one core in a single physical unit it does not mean they have to be identical cores just more than one.Reply
I agree with you. I'm surprised we haven't seen Intel go this direction. They could list all of their processors using Logical Cores (Physical + Hyper Thread). All of the current generation chips would magically improve from being Dual-Core, Quad-Core, and Hexa-Core. To Quad-Core, Octa-Core, and Dodeca-Core. -
dalethepcman fancarolinaOcta-core implies 8 cores of equal power. What we have here is a 4+4 Core processor.What we have here is technically a 10 core system, its ((4+1)+(4+1)) because it uses a companion core along side the traditional quad core design, same concept as in the Tegra3.Reply
If you ask me this is just too much processor for current gen cell tech, but it should open up tremendous potential if you were able to do display mirroring or used a pico projector along with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
p.s. will it play crysis... REALLY... welcome to 2013, that meme should have died five years ago. let it go man, just let it go. -
bigdragon Your phone or tablet's OS won't make much use of it today, but think about what this allows us to do tomorrow. I am loving the rapid improvement taking place in the ARM CPU arena. We used to have this sort of thing in the x86 arena back when AMD was capable of competing with Intel. Today x86 is just a slow trickle of incremental improvements. ARM designs are jumping ahead by leaps and bounds thanks to all the competition between Samsung, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and others.Reply
Today your phone is just a phone. What if it were possible to get rid of your laptop or desktop by connecting your phone to a full sized monitor or HDTV and bluetooth keyboard + mouse? There's no reason that small device can't one day be the one you compose reports on, create digital art with, or program using. Today's solutions are great for content consumers, but as a content creator I'm tired of being chained at my desk in an office environment. I'm all for having my phone or tablet become a capable creative device with more flexibility than we have today.
Competition is good. Tech upgrades are good. More powerful mobile devices are good. Build it and people will find something to do with it.