Samsung unveils quad-core chip for Galaxy 'S3'

Samsung has introduced a new 1.4GHz 'Exynos 4 Quad' processor for its smartphone and tablet devices that is based on the ARM Cortex A9 chip.

While Samsung did not say specifically which devices would be the first to use it when it announced the chip on Thursday, it did say it would feature on the "next Galaxy" device, widely expected to be the Samsung Galaxy 'S3'.

"The application processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with PC-like experience on mobile devices. Samsung's next Galaxy device... will be officially announced soon," Hankil Yoon, senior vice president of product strategy on Samsung's Mobile Communications team, said in a statement.

The chip uses a 32nm manufacturing process that provides "double the processing power" of the previous generation 45nm 'Exynos 4 Dual' and uses 20 percent less power, meaning that it should provide a longer battery life.

"Since all the cores must share a single battery, the power management and efficiency in the limited battery capacity are indispensable for mobile computing devices," Taehoon Kim, vice president of System LSI marketing in the Device Solutions unit at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. "Given the diverse functionalities consumers are demanding from their mobile devices today, the Exynos 4 Quad meets those high-performance needs while keeping power consumption very low."

Samsung said the chip's multicore processor makes it particularly well suited for taking on demanding applications such as 3D games and video editing.

The processor can also handle full 1080p video capture and playback and has been designed to be able to drive a WXGA 1366 by 768-pixel display.

The company said the new chip is "pin-to-pin" compatible with the previous Exynos 4 Dual, reducing the time needed for manufacturers to start using the chip without needing to re-engineer devices.