Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will sell two variants of its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7.
According to leaked reports the world’s largest manufacturer of Android devices will use different chips in two versions of the new smartphone. The first will be powered by an Exynos 8890 chip with custom ‘Mongoose’ cores, manufactured in-house, and the other will use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820, writes Kishalaya Kundu for Android Headlines.
Qualcomm and in-house chips on different variants of Galaxy S7
Qualcomm recently announced the Snapdragon 820 as its new flagship chip, and recent reports claim that next summer the company will unveil an octa-core avatar to add to the already announced quad-core. Rumors have been swirling for quite some time regarding different variants of the Galaxy S7, but now it appears that the S7 Edge will also be released with two different chips.
The SamMobile blog, which follows everything to do with Samsung, reports that the Galaxy S7 will carry the model number “SM-G930x” while the Galaxy S7 Edge will carry “SM-G935x.” The “x” is a wildcard that will change according to the carrier or region the handset will be shipped to.
Given the fact that each device will come in two variants there will be myriad model numbers. SamMobile published a photo which purportedly shows a screenshot of the exact model numbers, which was posted to a Chinese website.
Leaked screenshot shows model numbers for different countries and carriers
In the U.S. market it appears that the Snapdragon 820 variant of the Galaxy S7 will be identified as G930V on Verizon, while the Galaxy S7 Edge will be G935V. On Sprint the Galaxy S7 will carry G930P and the Galaxy S7 Edge G935P.
According to the screenshot it looks as though two other Snapdragon versions will go to China using G9300 and GG9350 although it is not known which carrier will receive them.
The Exynos variants will carry the following numbers. G930F and G935F will be unlocked versions of the S7 and S7 Edge respectively, while the G930T and SM-G935T will be shipped to T-Mobile. AT&T will receive the G930A and G935A.
Buyers in Canada will receive the G930W8 and the G935W8, while those in South Korea will get three versions each of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The model numbers will be SM-G930 S/K/L and SM-G935 S/K/L.
No confirmation on original report
That said the original report has not been confirmed and it is impossible to say whether these model numbers will be found on the devices when they finally ship. However multiple sources had already reported that different variants would use different chips, so multiple model numbers would be necessary.
Excitement is building in the lead up to the launch of the Galaxy S7, and many rumors have pegged a release date for early February 2016. The company usually waits to announce new Galaxy devices at the Mobile World Congress in February, but rumors are that Samsung will try a new strategy this time around.
Other rumors point to the fact that Samsung may freeze the price of the device, handing it an advantage in the battle with Apple for the flagship smartphone crown. The rumors are sure to continue swirling, with Android and iOS aficionados debating the merits of their chosen operating systems and predicting whether the Galaxy S7 will prove to be a true competitor to the iPhone 6s.
