LG To Take On 64-Bit Samsung Exynos, Qualcomm Snapdragon
There is very little doubt that 2015 will see the shift to 64-bit architecture on mobile processors, especially with Qualcomm making available such chips that straddle all device tiers. Major mobile chip makers are already making the transition, but there seems to be one very small and new player who wants to catch up. LG is now reported to still be eying a spot in the mobile AP (application processor) market with its own 64-bit octa-core chip to rival Qualcomm and, of course, Samsung.
After several rounds of rumors, LG finally revealed that it indeed had a chip of its own to boast of. At least that was the plan. The LG NUCLUN, pictured above, debuted in the LG G3 Screen, which only shared the G3's name but not its popularity. In fact, the G3 Screen will probably go down in history as one of LG's failures, if anyone remembers it at all. The phablet was prone to overheating, a problem that seems to hound LG's attempts.
The Korean OEM was rumored to have scrapped a second CPU, one that ran on four Cortex-A57 and four Cortext-A53, also 64-bit. Again, the problem of heat confounded LG to the point that it decided to abandon that plan altogether. They do say that third time's a charm, so LG is again taking a stab at the AP process, but perhaps with even more ambition.
The new chip will instead use the newly announced Cortex-A72 cores, promised to be 50 times faster than your average chip. Four of these will again be paired with low-power Cortex-A53 cores. Given those details, the GPU to drive the chip's graphics is expected to be none other than the equally new Mali T800 that can handle 4K video and console-quality graphics like a pro. At least according to ARM Holdings.
The Cortex-A72 won't start appearing in devices until 2016, so we can expect this unnamed LG chip to ship no earlier than late 2015. That might be very late into the game once the Snapdragon 810 and the new Exynos chips have taken a foothold, but it might be one of the first to sport ARM's new cores. That said, LG should be very careful in addressing those heat concerns, at it seems to be this year's hot topic (pun intended) when it comes to mobile chips.
VIA: G for Games