Samsung has announced that it started mass-producing a new mobile application processor — the Exynos 7 Quad 7570. The Samsung chipset is built on 14-nanometer (nm) process technology.
In 2015, Samsung was the first to take up 14nm FinFET technology for the company's premium processors. Since then, the company has expanded the adoption of the technology to other segments.
On Aug. 30, the Korean company confirmed that the Exynos 7570 processor is designed to be used in pocket-friendly smartphones. The Exynos 7570 is Samsung's first Exynos chipset that will completely integrate a Cat.4 LTE 2CA modem with connectivity standards such as Frequency Modulation (FM), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and global navigation satellite system (GNSS).
"With Exynos 7570, more consumers will be able to experience the performance benefits of the advanced 14nm FinFET process in affordable devices," said Ben K. Hur, the vice president of System LSI Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "By successfully integrating various connectivity solutions, Samsung is strengthening its competitiveness in the single chip market."
Samsung highlights that Exynos 7570 can support screen resolutions of up to WXGA, or 1,280 x 800 pixels. The processor can play back and record videos at Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) and includes an image signal processor, which can support up to 8 megapixels of front-facing camera and up to 13 megapixels of primary camera.
The 14nm technology has a number of benefits. Samsung claims that the technology has allowed the company to reduce the size of the chip by about 20 percent. Samsung also highlights that as the chipset is small, it also requires less power, which will make a difference in heat production as well as power consumption.
Samsung claims that the Exynos 7570 is 70 percent faster and 30 percent more power efficient, when compared to its predecessor.
Samsung has made considerable investment in its semiconductor facilities. The company has been successful in reducing the size of its Exynos chips, which will allow it to give stiff competition to rivals such as Qualcomm and MediaTek.
The Korean company launches a number of mobile phones each year, including several affordable devices for developing markets. The latest Exynos 7570 chipset is highly likely to be used in the company's upcoming budget handsets. It remains unclear if Samsung will license and sell the Exynos 7570 to other smartphone manufacturers in the near term.
Samsung has not given any details about when customers should expect mobile phones running on Exynos 7570. However, with the chipset going into mass production, it is likely that Samsung may introduce handsets running on Exynos 7570 by the end of this quarter or early in the next quarter.
