Qualcomm is reportedly experiencing more heat-related issues with its next generation processor, the Snapdragon 820.
This year’s Snapdragon 810 suffered from widely reported overheating issues, seemingly prompting Samsung to go with its own Exynos alternative for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG to adopt the step-down Snapdragon 808 for the LG G4.
If Qualcomm was expecting to put these issues behind it for 2016, a new report emerging from South Korea suggests otherwise.
According to Business Korea (via 9to5Google), Samsung is having to work to “stabilise” the Snapdragon 820 chip to work with its next batch of flagship phones – presumably led by the Galaxy S7.
Apparently, Samsung is modifying the processor’s control program to deal with “heat problems.” Failing that, Samsung will reportedly incorporate a radiating pipe into its next batch of phones to stop the processor from overheating.
It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t the first time the Snapdragon 820’s heat-handling capabilities have been called into question. Back in July, an established tipster suggested that Qualcomm’s issues in this area wouldn’t begin to be resolved until the launch of the Snapdragon 830.
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So why isn’t Samsung just going with its own Exynos solution like last year? After all, the Galaxy S6 and family remain some of the best-performing devices out there.
According to the report, Samsung will adopt the Snapdragon 820 “at all costs” because Samsung itself is said to be building the chips to Qualcomm’s specifications. It seems this chip will primarily be used in the US and China, which would suggest that the UK and other parts of the world will get an Exynos-powered S7, as in previous years.
The advantages of the Snapdragon 820 chip are said to include built-in malware protection and a healthy boost to camera and battery performance.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
