Samsung Galaxy S6 May Launch Without Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Chip

In addition to completely revamping the design of its Galaxy flagship smartphone line with the upcoming S6, Samsung may tap some new partners for the device’s internal components. The Galaxy S6 has long been rumored to feature Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon 810 chip; however, Samsung may ditch that processor in favor of one of its own, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

An unnamed source told the news service that after testing the Snapdragon 810, Samsung uncovered heating issues and decided not to use it. Prior reports have suggested that the Snapdragon 810 had problems with overheating. JPMorgan analysts said in early January that it is likely the configuration of the 64-bit ARM cores in the chip that are causing the problem. Several devices have since been announced with the Snapdragon 810 chip, including the LG G Flex 2 and the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro.

Samsung is counting on the Galaxy S6 to revitalize its brand, which has seen sales erosion over the past year. The company may use chips from its Exynos line in the Galaxy S6 instead of the Snapdragon 810. “Samsung may release the next Galaxy S as early as March, and it can’t dare to take the risk to use any of the chips in question for its most important model,” Song Myung Sup, a Seoul-based analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co., told Bloomberg.

Samsung has traditionally used Qualcomm chips in the majority of its devices to minimize supply shortages. In 2013, approximately 80 percent of chips in the Galaxy S4 were the Snapdragon 600, while Samsung used its Exynos 5410 chip in about 20 percent of S4 handsets. Qualcomm variants of the Galaxy S4 went to markets with infrastructure for LTE, such as the U.S., Canada and Europe, while most countries in Asia and Africa received the Exynos variant. Samsung has since improved its high-end chips to include LTE capability, making it suitable for high-speed networks in any market.