Ahead Of Galaxy S9 Release Date And MWC Launch, Samsung Completing AI Chips

Samsung Electronics is reportedly close to completing the development of its new neural processing chips, also known as AI chips, for mobile phones and servers. These new chips are expected to debut with the Galaxy S9 at next month’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018.

On Wednesday, industry sources told Korea Herald about the progress that the South Korean tech giant made with its new AI chips. “Samsung is almost done with the development of AI chips for servers, which is expected to be commercialized for server films,” one source said citing a Samsung insider.

The source also shared what Samsung is planning for its mobile phone AI chips. “For mobile phones, Samsung has already reached the technological levels of Apple and Huawei, but will come up with better chips for sure in the second half of the year,” the source said.

Samsung is a bit late in joining this market. It embarked on making neural processing chips in the second half of 2017, while established rivals Apple and Huawei were already boasting AI chips with advanced capabilities and the ability to accelerate data processing on their mobile flagships.

A tech expert has said that because Samsung is already close to completing its new AI chips, the company could show off some of its NPU’s (neural processing units) capabilities at the launch of the Galaxy S9 flagship phone, which is now expected to happen on Feb. 25, a day prior the kick-off of MWC 2018.

“Although the company has been somewhat late in the AI field, it was quite fast in catching up with competitors,” the expert who wants to remain anonymous said. “Still, it is too early to compare the performances of AI chips by Samsung, Apple and Huawei, because the market has just been formed.”

“Apple claims that its NPU has reached 600 in giga operations per second, while Huawei says 4 in tera operations per second. Samsung’s is estimated to be similar or slightly higher at the moment,” the expert added.

Samsung’s work doesn’t end with the completion of its new AI chips for the Galaxy S9. The company is reportedly developing an enhanced NPU for the Galaxy Note 9, its second half flagship offering that’s believed to be launching in September.

But for now, everyone’s attention is focused on the Galaxy S9 and its bigger brother, the Galaxy S9+. According to a new leak, the successors to last year’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ are coming with the same battery capacities as their predecessors. The S9 is reportedly housing a 3,000mAh battery, while the S9+ is sporting a 3,500mAh battery, as per a leaked certification from Brazil’s telecom regulator ANATEL.

Both the S9 and the S9+ are also believed to be debuting with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 SoC and Quick Charge 4.0+. If true, the two technologies could make it possible for the new flagships to perform more efficiently and to have longer battery life than last year’s models.