Samsung in 'final stages' on 64-Bit Exynos; May Show Up in Galaxy S5

[dgstorm]

Supposedly, Samsung is already working on a 64-bit version of their new Exynos processor line. This one will be based upon the ultra-high-end ARM Cortex-A50 architecture. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It turns out that Samsung made the new 64-bit A7 chip that is the Apple iPhone 5S.

It was obviously inevitable that we would see Samsung utilize the technology in their own designs as well. The only primary advantages of the 64-bit core is that it can address more than 3GB of RAM, and that it can handle multi-tasking better than a 32-bit processor. Of course, the application/software has to be written to take advantage of the 64-bit tech, otherwise, there is no appreciable difference.

Regardless, along with the intel above, we have word that the next generation Galaxy S5 will likely be Samsung's first candidate for the newer 64-bit Exynos chipset. Of course, this should not come as a surprise either. Samsung can't afford to fall too far behind the iPhone in the spec wars, lest they appear to have lost their edge.

Source: PhoneArena

 

[tgyberg]

Wow, drool! If it's not ready for the S5 it will be for the Note 4!!

 

[combatmedic870]

And here come the 4GB ram devices!

 

[Hugh Jass]

I wish Google would resist this move, it's completely unnecessary.

 

[tgyberg]

I wish Google would resist this move, it's completely unnecessary.

Well then, turns out I'm attracted to all kinds of things in life that are "completely unnecessary"!

 

[Hugh Jass]

Unfortunately it's the human condition. lol.

 

[kodiak799]

I wish Google would resist this move, it's completely unnecessary.

Only because you're not seeing a need for mobile devices with that kind of power. They will one day replace the pc/laptop. This is a necessary step in that evolution.

Now what will be funny is Sammy putting that processor in and still only offering 3 gigs of ram with their devices.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Only because you're not seeing a need for mobile devices with that kind of power. They will one day replace the pc/laptop. This is a necessary step in that evolution.

Now what will be funny is Sammy putting that processor in and still only offering 3 gigs of ram with their devices.

This is more comparable to building a rocket ship for future space travel without manufacturing or designing anything to power it.

I like this article, sums it up nicely.

Samsung, which was undoubtedly surprised by the usually-slow-to-market Apple announcing that the iPhone 5S would be the first 64-bit smartphone on the market, has announced that its “next smartphones” will also have “64-bit processing functionality.” This presumably means that the Galaxy S5, or perhaps the phone after that, will have a 64-bit SoC — and, perhaps more importantly, that Android will make the leap to 64-bit, too. Whether smartphones actually gain anything from 64-bit processing, or whether this is merely a 3D TV-like marketing ploy, is another question entirely.At the iPhone 5S launch last week, Apple surprised us all by announcing that its new smartphone would be the first in the world to support 64-bit software. In true Apple style, we don’t know a whole lot about the A7, except that it’s Apple-designed and based on the new ARMv8 instruction set. ARMv8 is 64-bit, but it is backwards compatible with 32-bit ARMv7. Almost every mobile chip in the last few years has been based on the ARMv7 Cortex-A7 or -A9 cores, with the exception of Qualcomm and Apple, who designed their own cores (which are still fairly similar to ARM’s reference cores). While there is a Cortex-A15, its large power envelope makes it almost unusable in smartphones — and then there’sCortex-A53 and -A57, which are ARM’s first 64-bit reference designs.

As far as we can tell, judging by the limited info released by Apple, the A7 SoC is probably based on the Cortex-A57 core. Samsung, when it releases a 64-bit phone, will almost certainly use an Exynos SoC that uses the Cortex-A57 CPU core. This is all well and good, except for one thing: Cortex-A57, ARMv8, and 64-bit computing are essentially useless in mobile devices. They are primarily low-power, high-density server-oriented technologies.
There is almost no reason for Samsung to follow in the A7′s footsteps, except to counterany marketing FUD that Apple throws up. There are minimal performance gains to be had from switching to 64-bit, and in some cases there might even be a small hit to performance and battery life. You might see this as long-term future proofing, but even on desktop PCs, where x86-64 chips have been the norm for 10 years, the impact of 64-bit computing has been negligible. Yes, we need to switch to 64 bits at some point, but there are probablymore important things that Apple, Samsung, and other mobile device makers should be focusing on at the moment.

And then there’s Android. As it stands, Androidis completely 32-bit, and if a lot of work is being done on 64-bit, it certainly isn’t being done publicly. I would be extremely surprised if Android 4.4 KitKat turns out to be a 64-bit OS. Porting Android to 64-bit would be a fairly large undertaking, and I doubt that Google would invest the time and effort unless there was a valid reason to do so. In this regard, it will probably come down to how loudly Apple beats the 64-bit drum; if Apple can somehow get the public to think that 64 bits are better than 32 (which wouldn’t be hard), then Google will have no recourse but to make the jump.

Samsung will misguidedly release 64-bit SoC and Android, to combat iPhone 5S | ExtremeTech

 

[Hugh Jass]

Oops, racked up a double post there, sorry.

 

[kodiak799]

This is more comparable to building a rocket ship for future space travel without manufacturing or designing anything to power it.

32-bit can only address 4gigs of ram.

64-bit is a necessary step toward phones/tablets that will dual boot a PC OS or serve that function themselves. 4gigs of ram is barely sufficient for that. If you want to edit or work on more than "trivial" spreadsheets or powerpoints on your tablet, you need more.

And that article seems kinds of ignorant to the benefits of 64-bit. Anyone who has done a lot of work with Excel or Access (and I imagine some other apps for the power-user) know it makes a HUGE difference in being able to utilize more than 1.5-2gigs of ram.

I seriously doubt Google isn't looking at 64-bit. Aside from rumors about merging with Chrome OS, 64-bit is the now of computing with everyone jockeying for position in the convergence of mobile/pc. I guarantee MS is interested, and you know Intel is going to address this. Samsung not moving forward risks being left behind.