We've already heard the rumors that the Galaxy Note III will sport a gigantic 6.3-inch screen, but it seems even more probable that the hybrid-handset will feature the brand new eight-core, Samsung-manufactured Exynos 5 SoC. The Korea Times reports just that, saying the Samsung Galaxy Note III will arrive later this year with the octo-core processor, according to executives from the company.
The Exynos 5 Octa is an eight-core processor designed for tablets and high-end smartphones. It's one of the first products to use ARM's big.LITTLE processor switching technology and can designate the task at hand to either the high-performance or high-efficiency CPU cores. This should make the processor more power-efficient than its predecessors; it also means a faster phone with sufficient battery life.
This comes hot off the heels of news that Samsung is also minimizing its reliance on Apple's business by expanding its chip business in China and looking toward other smartphone manufacturers, like ZTE and Huawei. Apple currently pays Samsung about $8.8 billion to produce mobile chips, according to Goldman Sachs. Samsung hopes the introduction of the Exynos 5 Octa will help give the company more appeal so that it might diversify its client base and begin shifting its revenue streams away from Apple. "More smartphone releases by Chinese makers are giving a new business chance for us to offset risks stemming from Apple," said the unnamed Samsung executive. With Huawei's 6.1-inch smartphone in the works, Samsung is hopeful the company will need its chips to efficiently power that display without killing off battery life. And if that processor will be tucked inside Huawei's phones, it's almost inevitable that it will come standard with Samsung's next generation of phablets too.
