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Currently only two handset manufacturers also develop their own smartphone CPUs. One is Apple. The other is Samsung. Soon, however, LG hopes to count its name among them. Word out of their Seoul-based headquarters is that the company is in the very early stages of research and development on their own line of mobile processors as the company continues to struggle to make a name for itself in the smartphone industry.
The hope is that by controlling the supply chain, LG might not only reap extra profits by keeping the cost of parts lower, but also speed up the development and manufacturing process for upcoming handsets. As seen with Samsung, this can be a blessing and a curse. Samsung also makes the AMOLED displays used in most of their high-end handsets, and manufacturing problems have been a constant problem in keeping those displays in stock.
The story is LG has teamed up with semiconductor maker MtekVision, though the exact details have not been confirmed by anyone inside the company.
[via TaipeiTimes]
One word. Fragmentation!
Competition is just what we need.
This should be good news for the next generation. Doesn’t apple just take samsungs CPU and tweak it?
nope. Samsung doesn’t even use the powervr gpu anymore.
@Brian
Apple A4/A5 are based on the ARM processor architecture. Apple licenses the technology from ARM Holdings like many others. Apple designed the SoC and asked Samsung to manufacture it.
Better jump straight to Quad Core.
Good let them get in so it drives down the prices for future devices!
@me
How does developing their own processors mean fragmentation? Idiot smh
The whole thing how apple designs its own chips is a marketing bullshit. Apple A4 @ 1GHz sounds much better than just a 1GHz CPU right (too apple fans at least)? Actually they just take a ARM Cortex A8 CPU designed by UK company ARM and remove the features they don’t need (stock Cortex A8 is designed for a wide range of applications). These sligtly modified chips are still manufactured by samsung and do are very similar other cortex A8 designs.
Apple bought the company that designed their chips last April.. Samsung is the company that manufactures them. So in Apples case the supply chain is still dependent upon Samsung (and Foxconn for putting it all together).. If LG is “teaming up” with MtekVision to make chips for their phones, it may be beneficial in that they have less customers to compete for production time with, but has no apparent relation to trying to “be like” Apple or Samsung.. If they bought MtekVision they could be compared to Samsung.. If they bought a chip designer, and had MtekVision make their chips, then they would be like Apple.
Last I heard, Apple uses Samsung chips, though maybe that changed with its “A5” processor?
I think the best way to jump ahead in the smartphone market is to be number one in updates. That could choose to devote the resources to it.
@me I believe you have some fragmentation issues going on in your brain. I guessing it’s safe to assume you ride the short bus to school.
‘Fragmentation’ is the most over-used talking-points word since ‘gravitas.’
Apple develop their own CPUs? They are a literal copy and made by Samsung.
Also I won’t be surprised if Apple A5 is a copy of Samsung’s Exeryon having similar specs – Cortex A9 core, PowerSGX 543 GPU.
But of course, looks like Tegra2, Qualcomm 866x and OMAP44xx trumps them.
Neither one of those design their own processors, both adapt ARM designs.
@Steve
ARM is an architecture like x86 was an architecture.. You would not say that AMD doesn’t design their own chips just because they use the same x85 instruction set as Intel.. Yes the ARM core is the ARM core, but the final product involves a bit more than stamping your name on it. The dual cores coming from Nvida, Qualcom, and Samsung will all have ARM cores but have different ingredients making up the final product. It’s going to be interesting to see which design turns out to be the best.
@dennis My impression is that ARM designs the architecture and the Apples & Samsungs of the world make minor modifications and fabricate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture