Image Composite by Joe Aimonetti/CNET
Sources in the industry speaking with DigiTimes (via AppleInsider) have reportedly been expecting the competition in the smartphone world to heat up around the adoption of quad-core processors as early as this year’s holiday quarter.
HTC, Samsung, LG, and China’s Meizu already have quad-core processors in their phones, leading industry sources to believe that indeed, Apple will have to include a new chip to stay competitive.
That new iPhone is largely expected to be released this fall.
While its competition is mostly using Qualcomm’s dual-core technology (quad-core is forthcoming later this year), Apple is expected to use Samsung’s Exynos 4 architecture as part of its custom line of chips.
The iPhone 4S currently runs the dual-core A5 (the new iPad runs with the A5X, which includes an upgraded graphics processor to handle its Retina Display). A quad-core iPhone would likely carry the A6 name.
Would the lack of a quad-core processor in Apple’s next iPhone be detrimental to Apple’s sales? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!