Samsung is moving forward towards fulfilling their plan of mass production of chipsets for the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10, starting construction on a new foundry this week.
The Korean tech giant seeks to exercise greater control over the manufacture of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 chipsets, making the plunge to be involved with all aspects of the processor with the launch of a new $5.6 billion factory. Samsung reportedly plans to expand the factory moving forward, but it will be put into action immediately after being built in order to supply the no-doubt massive demand for the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10.
The Snapdragon 845 chipset that will make its debut in the Galaxy S9 uses a Qualcomm X20 modem at around a 1.2 Gbps speed. With the recent announcement of the 7nm X24 modem from Qualcomm, we can reasonably expect that the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 will feature a Snapdragon 855. However, the Snapdragon chipsets have thus far usually been limited to a North American release, with the rest of the world using Samsung’s proprietary chipset. With the launch of this new factory, the company should have the infrastructure they need to make sure there’s an adequate supply of the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 upon release.
The Korean Herald states that the new factory from Samsung is a direct response to TSMC’s chip production – a technology which is set to be included in the Apple A12 chipset being designed for the 2018 lineup of iPhones. However, Samsung’s new factory includes new Extreme Ultraviolet lithography equipment sourced from the Netherlands which actually puts the factory’s capabilities above and beyond those of TSMC’s facilities. While the initial goal for the new foundry is the ability to produce Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 chipsets, the potential of the facility in its final form may be far more advanced once Samsung has the chance to improve upon the initial setup.
With this new equipment, it’s looking as if it’s possible that the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 processors could be superior to the technology included in Apple’s upcoming phones. With the iPhone X currently one of the fastest phones on the market, it may be a major blow to Apple if Samsung is to truly be able to claim that their new flagships are the fastest on the market.
With that said, speed isn’t the only concern users have when upgrading to a new device. With the majority of high-end flagships increasing in price and the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 likely to be over $1000 upon their eventual release, there needs to be a good reason for customers to make a jump from their current phones – and power might not be enough. While the Galaxy S9 has yet to release, we’re already aware of the specifications the phone is packing, and we’re honestly not super impressed.
The Galaxy S9 offers a notable power upgrade, but outside of that, the only major improvements are tweaks to the camera. Many around the web are upset that we’ve seen more of the same from Samsung, and are hoping that the release of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 return Samsung to the forefront of smartphone innovation rather than continuing to play it safe with iterative upgrades.
The new foundry gives Samsung the chance to produce some great new processors for their own Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10, as well as the space and upgradability they need in order to create a phone that leaves the market a little more excited than they are with the upcoming release of the S9.
As far as the features we may see with the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10, it’s safe to say that we should see an upgrade to the fingerprint scanner in at least one of the two. As screens continue to grow in size and bezels continue to shrink, there has been less and less space on the front of the phone to fit in essential pieces of technology such as the fingerprint scanner. While Samsung has opted with the S8 and Note 8 to include the scanner on the rear of the phone rather than on the front, it’s a rather awkward solution that is a good deal more inconvenient than a more traditional setup. Samsung is one of multiple smartphone manufacturers that are rumored to have an under-display scanning technology in development, which would allow them to return the fingerprint security feature to the front of the phone. That may seem like a minor upgrade, but it’s definitely something to look forward to as part of the future of smartphone design.
Overall, it’s difficult to determine what exactly we’ll see from the next generation of Samsung’s phone, but if the launch of this new foundry is any indication, we’ll see some powerful processors in the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10.
