Korean Galaxy S III variant will be first smartphone to feature quad-core processing and LTE
When a leaked image suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S3 would launch in Korea with both a quad-core processor and LTE support, we were quick to dismiss the notion, assuming the device would merely support HSPA+ as with other versions. That leak came after a report that an anonymous Samsung rep had hinted that a quad-core/LTE version of phone did in fact exist, and now the device has been confirmed.
The GS3 variant was spotted at a Samsung event in Seoul over the weekend and does differ slightly from other versions of the phone. The phone sports the quad-core Exynos chip developed by Samsung and couples it with a separate LTE module, bringing the thickness of the handset up to 9mm. This edition of the Galaxy S3 will launch a bit later on, with its 3G counterpart already available to the public in Korea.
The news might rub a few North American consumers the wrong way after Samsung opted to release their latest Galaxy phone with a dual-core processor in the States and Canada in order to support LTE and HSPA+ 42 networks without altering elements of the handset’s overall design. It seems unlikely that the Korean LTE version of the device will find its way to other regions.
[via The Verge]