Galaxy S7 release date, specs rumors: Samsung modifying Snapdragon 820 for device?

Qualcomm web site

There have been reports that Samsung will be launching its next flagship, the Galaxy S7, much earlier than expected. In addition, the new S7 will reportedly use the newer, homegrown Exynos 8890.

However, there are also rumors that for the first time, Samsung will release a flagship lineup with more than one processor version. With recent reports that the South Korean company is working on a Snapdragon processor, the speculations may prove to be true.

According to South Korean publication Business Korea (via Gadgets 360), Samsung is currently working on the Snapdragon 820 SoC, modifying the chipset to overcome heating issues. Although the overheating issue is not yet confirmed for the SD 820 processor, it seems that Samsung is only taking necessary steps to make sure that any concern resulting from overheating can be addressed. Previously, there were reports that the chipset preceding the 820 SoC, the Snapdragon 810 processor, suffered from the issues.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm, the maker of the Snapdragon series of processors, is quick to dispel the rumors that the new Snapdragon chipset is prone to overheating. In a statement sent to Gadgets 360 (also posted on the company's Weibo site), Qualcomm said, "The rumors circulating in the media regarding Snapdragon 820 performance are false. The Snapdragon 820 improves on all IP blocks and is fabricated in the second generation of the 14nm process technology. It is meeting all of our specifications."

Qualcomm did not confirm nor deny the report that Samsung is trying to modify the chipset. It assured observers, however, that the new chipset passed all standards set by their partner companies, like Samsung. Qualcomm added, "But more importantly it is satisfying the thermal and performance specifications from our OEMs."

While there is no specific release date yet for the Galaxy S7, previous reports place Samsung to be planning a January announcement for the latest flagship.