Anandtech: Galaxy S4 doesn't use Snapdragon 600

[Love Divine]

AnandTech | Samsung Galaxy S 4 Review - Part 1

Part 1 of the Anandtech review... You'll see why they're considered the holy grail of reviews by many. Great writing, supreme detail you get nowhere else, and tables upon tables. However, I found the processor part most interesting:

That brings us to the Galaxy S 4. It's immediately apparent that something is different here because Samsung is shipping the Snapdragon 600 at a higher frequency than any other OEM. The Krait 300 cores in SGS4 can run at up to 1.9GHz vs. 1.7GHz for everyone else. Curiously enough, 1.9GHz is the max frequency that Qualcomm mentioned when it first announced Snapdragon 600.

Samsung is obviously a very large customer, so at first glance we assumed it could simply demand a better bin of Snapdragon 600 than its lower volume competitors. Looking a bit deeper however, we see that the Galaxy S 4 uses something different entirely.

Digging through the Galaxy S 4 kernel source we see references to an APQ8064AB part. As a recap, APQ8064 was the first quad-core Krait 200 SoC with no integrated modem, more commonly referred to as Snapdragon S4 Pro. APQ8064T was supposed to be its higher clocked/Krait 300 based successor that ended up with the marketing name Snapdragon 600. APQ8064AB however is, at this point, unique to the Galaxy S 4 but still carries the Snapdragon 600 marketing name.

If we had to guess, we might be looking at an actual respin of the APQ8064 silicon in APQ8064AB. Assuming Qualcomm isn't playing any funny games here, APQ8064AB may simply be a respin capable of hitting higher frequencies. We'll have to keep a close eye on this going forward, but it's clear to me that the Galaxy S 4 is shipping with something different than everyone else who has a Snapdragon 600 at this point.

Very interesting. It's still billed as the S600, but is something slightly different than what everybody else is using. Maybe more light can be shed on this in the coming months.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

AnandTech | Samsung Galaxy S 4 Review - Part 1

Part 1 of the Anandtech review... You'll see why they're considered the holy grail of reviews by many. Great writing, supreme detail you get nowhere else, and tables upon tables. However, I found the processor part most interesting:



Very interesting. It's still billed as the S600, but is something slightly different than what everybody else is using. Maybe more light can be shed on this in the coming months.

What it sounds like to me, really, is a marketing ploy. Samsung wanted to call it's chip the S600, so Qualcomm had to do some tuning so that it wouldn't be "just" an S4 Pro.

Also sounds kinda shady. Hopefully, like you said, we'll get more information.

 

[madlaw1071]

What it sounds like to me, really, is a marketing ploy. Samsung wanted to call it's chip the S600, so Qualcomm had to do some tuning so that it wouldn't be "just" an S4 Pro.

Also sounds kinda shady. Hopefully, like you said, we'll get more information.

For a so called moderator, you seem awfully biased towards a particular device.

 

[dmmarck]

For a so called moderator, you seem awfully biased towards a particular device.

Mods are people too .

Still, GS4 folks should be concerned that the processor they have is not what is billed. Hopefully Anandtech gets to the bottom of this.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

For a so called moderator, you seem awfully biased towards a particular device.

For you to call me out like that takes guts. I own the One. It's not a secret. I love the One, but I don't hate the S4. It'll sell like hotcakes I'm sure.

If samsung is using some type of one-off chip that qualcomm made specifically for them and yet are still calling it an S600 then that's shady. That being said, it WOULD account for the performance issues some reviews have noticed.

So now that you've called me out I will no longer ignore your trolling. Since nowhere in the rules of being a Moderator does it say that I can't voice my opinion and participate in discussions.

 

[JL84]

he again has done a job well done.... now i need the phone in my hands!

 

[madlaw1071]

For you to call me out like that takes guts. I own the One. It's not a secret. I love the One, but I don't hate the S4. It'll sell like hotcakes I'm sure.

If samsung is using some type of one-off chip that qualcomm made specifically for them and yet are still calling it an S600 then that's shady. That being said, it WOULD account for the performance issues some reviews have noticed.

So now that you've called me out I will no longer ignore your trolling. Since nowhere in the rules of being a Moderator does it say that I can't voice my opinion and participate in discussions.

By definition, a moderator should mediate, which requires neutrality. You are not neutral. Free country, respect your opinions, but you aren't neutral.

Also, you once reminded me I was a troll for referring to someone else as a troll. Thus, by your own standards, by accusing me of trolling you are a troll.

Just saying..

 

[SteveISU]

For you to call me out like that takes guts. I own the One. It's not a secret. I love the One, but I don't hate the S4. It'll sell like hotcakes I'm sure.

If samsung is using some type of one-off chip that qualcomm made specifically for them and yet are still calling it an S600 then that's shady. That being said, it WOULD account for the performance issues some reviews have noticed.

So now that you've called me out I will no longer ignore your trolling. Since nowhere in the rules of being a Moderator does it say that I can't voice my opinion and participate in discussions.

What performance issues have some seen?

 

[madlaw1071]

What performance issues have some seen?

The AC review is the only one I have seen that complains of lag.

 

[dmmarck]

The AC review is the only one I have seen that complains of lag.

No one ever confused TW with being fast and efficient. Common searches and complaints for the S3 revolve around TW's lag. I would expect the new version of TW, with what seems to have an infinite amount of new, power hungry features, to be more of the same.

 

[madlaw1071]

I'm on page 1 of this review and already this guys shows stupidity. Samsung uses plastic not because it's cheap but because it's easier to manufacture in large quantities, enabling it to meet demand and sells 10s of millions of units. I seem to recall that S3's and the S4 actually cost more to make than the One so that argument is simply bogus and ignorant.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

By definition, a moderator should mediate, which requires neutrality. You are not neutral. Free country, respect your opinions, but you aren't neutral.

Also, you once reminded me I was a troll for referring to someone else as a troll. Thus, by your own standards, by accusing me of trolling you are a troll.

Just saying..

I only need to mediate when there are things that require mediation. The role of a moderator is to engage the community and interact. Drive conversation. That does mean that I'm allowed to have an opinion, and that I can state my opinion. You didn't like my opinion, so you decided to attack me in a different, somewhat underhanded, way.

I've seen your post. Your posts have been reported more than once. I've chosen not to take action, though, for reasons I don't need to explain. Please don't mistake my kindness for weakness.

FYI, if this thread needs any type of moderator action it won't be done by me, since to remain impartial to the conversation and emotions that go along with it I might exercise poor judgment. I'm here for the discussion and conversation. Not to debate how to be a Moderator (also, see that badge under my avatar? I helped write the rules and guidelines for our Mod team. I know them well. Didn't get where I am by NOT following them.)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[dmmarck]

I'm on page 1 of this review and already this guys shows stupidity. Samsung uses plastic not because it's cheap but because it's easier to manufacture in large quantities, enabling it to meet demand and sells 10s of millions of units. I seem to recall that S3's and the S4 actually cost more to make than the One so that argument is simply bogus and ignorant.

Why would Samsung spend more to make a device that many think is inferior in quality, design, and construction to the HTC One? If true, it's a further indictment of Samsung and its inability--or perhaps, patent refusal--to revolutionize Android hardware.

 

[madlaw1071]

I only need to mediate when there are things that require mediation. The role of a moderator is to engage the community and interact. Drive conversation. That does mean that I'm allowed to have an opinion, and that I can state my opinion. You didn't like my opinion, so you decided to attack me in a different, somewhat underhanded, way.

I've seen your post. Your posts have been reported more than once. I've chosen not to take action, though, for reasons I don't need to explain. Please don't mistake my kindness for weakness.

FYI, if this thread needs any type of moderator action it won't be done by me, since to remain impartial to the conversation and emotions that go along with it I might exercise poor judgment. I'm here for the discussion and conversation. Not to debate how to be a Moderator (also, see that badge under my avatar? I helped write the rules and guidelines for our Mod team. I know them well. Didn't get where I am by NOT following them.)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Thank you for your kindness, sarcasm and humor intended. Seriously, it's cell phones we're talking about not life. You can ban me after this post and my life will continue. If flashing your power on this forum makes your day, enjoy it and use it well.

 

[dmmarck]

Thank you for your kindness, sarcasm and humor intended. Seriously, it's cell phones we're talking about not life. You can ban me after this post and my life will continue. If flashing your power on this forum makes your day, enjoy it and use it well.

I don't think his post says what you think it says.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I'm on page 1 of this review and already this guys shows stupidity. Samsung uses plastic not because it's cheap but because it's easier to manufacture in large quantities, enabling it to meet demand and sells 10s of millions of units. I seem to recall that S3's and the S4 actually cost more to make than the One so that argument is simply bogus and ignorant.

Please, list your credentials showing that you know more about why samsung did something than anybody else does?

Do you also review phones/devices professionally?

Also, would you say that if the rest of the review was glowingly positive? Or are you just mad because you went around saying that the S4 was superior, but now all (ok, most) of the reviews are favoring the One?

 

[madlaw1071]

Why would Samsung spend more to make a device that many think is inferior in quality, design, and construction to the HTC One? If true, it's a further indictment of Samsung and its inability--or perhaps, patent refusal--to revolutionize Android hardware.

You digress. Samsung has brought Android to the masses with it's choices and put it on par with Apple. Once thought impossible. Obviously, they're doing alot of things right.

 

[madlaw1071]

Please, list your credentials showing that you know more about why samsung did something than anybody else does?

Do you also review phones/devices professionally?

Also, would you say that if the rest of the review was glowingly positive? Or are you just mad because you went around saying that the S4 was superior, but now all (ok, most) of the reviews are favoring the One?

LOL no, I argue with people for a living as my name implies.

As for plastic, I'll take it from the horse's mouth.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Specs: Samsung VP Confirms Plastic Body, Cites Ease of Production and Durability : Tech : Latinos Post

 

[dmmarck]

LOL no, I argue with people for a living as my name implies.

As for plastic, I'll take it from the horse's mouth.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Specs: Samsung VP Confirms Plastic Body, Cites Ease of Production and Durability : Tech : Latinos Post

Wow, we have something in common.

 

[dmmarck]

You digress. Samsung has brought Android to the masses with it's choices and put it on par with Apple. Once thought impossible. Obviously, they're doing alot of things right.

Their previous contributions are fantastic. But just like Apple, they've grown lazy, iterative, and complacent.