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Samsung's next-generation mobile chip is looking rather powerful

New year's resolution?

Samsung's next-generation mobile chip is looking rather powerful
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The first details of Samsung's next-generation Exynos 5 mobile SoC (system on a chip) have leaked out, and it's certainly raising a few eyebrows with its abilities.

The first surprising aspect is that it's not a quad-core processor, unlike the Exynos 4 powering the lightning-quick, Pocket Gamer Gold Award-winning Galaxy S III.

Instead, the Exynos 5 marks a return to the dual-core setup of earlier configurations, albeit clocked at an impressive 1.7GHz. It's also likely to be the first CPU to use ARM's Cortex A15 architecture.

Alongside the CPU is an ARM Mali-T604 GPU, which is capable of supporting resolutions larger than the monitor / screen you're reading this on (2560x1600, to be exact) and stereoscopic 3D displays.

ARM is also claiming that its latest GPU represents a 5x speed increase over previous models of Mali GPUs, which would officially make it Very Fast.

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Furthermore, the Exynos 5 comes with full DirectX 11 support, which suggests it could well form the basis of a Windows 8 RT system in the future.

Samsung hasn't announced any phones or tablets that will use the Exynos 5 yet, but I'd be surprised if it didn't start popping up around the turn of the year at least.

Android Authority [via The Verge]

Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).