Samsung's Galaxy S4 won't come with an octa-core Exynos processor when it lands in the UK. Instead, it'll have a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor , but why and is it a big deal ?
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4, one of the most impressive features of the smartphone was its Exynos 5 octa-core processor. The combination of its 4 high-performance cores and 4 efficiency cores delivers high-end performance and generous battery-life.
At the smartphones unveiling, Samsung confirmed that the US version of the Galaxy S4 would ship with a quad-core processor instead of the Exynos 5 chip. The bad news is that the Korean company have now confirmed that the UK version will also ship with the quad-core processor.
Apparently, the Exynos 5 processor is incompatible with 4G LTE. We can't help feeling perplexed by Samsung's decision to design and manufacturer a new chip that isn't compatible with the latest mobile networks.
The replacement 1.9 Ghz quad-core processor will still deliver amazing power, but it's likely to deliver lower raw performance than the Exynos 5 processor.
However, our main concern is that the new quad-core chip won't be anywhere near as efficient as the Exynos processor. If that does hold true then the battery life of the Galaxy S4 is likely to be adversely affected.
We can't help feeling disappointed by Samsung , especially because they didn't make this information clear at the launch event earlier in the month. We know that 4G LTE compatibility had to be included, but we still can't help feeling slightly disappointed.
We compared the Galaxy S4 to the Sony Xperia Z when we decided that there is very little to choose between the two smartphones. This change of processor, changes the ball-game and brings the performance of the two smartphones closer together.
