Qualcomm trying to update Snapdragon 810 chip for Samsung's Galaxy S6

Early reports from Samsung is that they have been having problems with overheating with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC in the early prototypes for the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship model.

Typically Samsung has opted for their own Exynos chipset within Asian borders, but the Qualcomm processors in the rest of the world for the Samsung S range of smart phones. The speed of the Samsung developed Exynos have previously been comparable to the Qualcomm option but lacked their graphics performance of the GPU.

With the current situation, Samsung is considering reverting back to only using their own processors due to a problem with overheating according to insiders. The issue there is whether their processor will be fully compatible with all apps and software because issue with using other processors like the Nvidia Tegra K1 can crop up and cause problems for buyers later.

Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4

Getting Slimmer Has Its Costs

The Galaxy S6 model is likely to be even slimmer than its predecessor the S5 because it is competing with the thinness of the latest iPhone 6. Both thin and possibly curved designs are more popular than ever. The issue with such an approach though is that a phone can be designed to provide adequate cooling within a tiny chassis, but this may prove insufficient for a new processor which needs more airflow to run cooler.

New version of Snapdragon 810 SoC in the works

Qualcomm are now working on a different version of the Snapdragon 810 SoC to appease the Korean electronics giant. A new version is expected to be delivered to Samsung by March but as the Samsung Galaxy S5 is expected to be released in April it is questionable whether the company will have time to test the new version and use it with their new model without pushing back the expected release date to May or June.

LG Disagree with the reason for the heat problem

The situation is a curious one because LG vice president Choi Yong-su stated to the Wall Street Journal last week that the Snapdragon 810 was fine. He commented that, “Heat levels don’t depend entirely on the CPU but also on how the phone’s internal cooling system is designed.” This tends to lay the blame on the internal cooling approach that Samsung are taking rather than on the chipset itself.

Qualcomm's Move into 64-bit Mobile Computing

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC chipset is an important one for the processor developer because it marks their first major step into 64-bit mobile computing waters after Apple advanced there with their iPhone range earlier than expected which pushed up 64-bit designed for competing chipset makers.

A lot is therefore riding on the success of the Snapdragon 810; Qualcomm can certainly not afford negative press on the chipset otherwise savvy consumers may avoid phones like the LG G Flex 2 curved display smart phone due in February which will use the Snapdragon 810.