The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 seems to be off to a rocky start. Previously rumored to be delayed, the mobile chip maker has assured the industry that its first octa-core 64-bit chips will ship on time, as seems to be implied by recent new smartphone announcements. But now according to an insider source, the chip was found to have some overheating issues based on Samsung's test, forcing the Korean OEM to switch out the processors for its upcoming Galaxy S6, expected to be unveiled in March.
The Snapdragon 810, along with its lower tier 610 and 410 siblings, marks a milestone for Qualcomm as the company's octa-core chip as well as its switch to a 64-bit architecture. Highly anticipated and hyped since last year, the system-on-chip is expected to power a good deal of mobile devices this year, just as its predecessors, the Snapdragon 800 and 805 did last year.
But one high-profile customer might be backing out. An anonymous source close to the matter claims that Samsung won't be donning the Galaxy S6 with the Snapdragon 810. And since it wouldn't want to go with an older chip for its first 2015 flagship, the chances are it would be going with its own Exynos chip instead. Qualcomm's processors powers majority of Samsung mobile devices and Samsung is one of if not its biggest customer, making up 12 percent of its sales.
That said, the timing of this leak seems to be a bit curious. Samsung might simply be paving the way to announce its complete switch to its own Exynos SoCs, at least for its flagships. It's no secret that Samsung has been steadily ramping up its processors with more and more features that would rival Qualcomm's so it's really only a matter of time before something like this happens.
Qualcomm's other high profile customers don't seem to be fazed, however. Xiaomi, whose rather powerful Mi Note will be launching end of January, will be powered by the Snapdragon 810 as well and Xiaomi hasn't uttered a word. LG will also be launching its G Flex 2 later this month and Samsung's rival seems to be quite happy with the processor.
SOURCE: Bloomberg