In yet another case of a device’s specifications possibly getting leaked due to benchmarking, the Samsung Galaxy S2 was reportedly recently submitted to the Geekbench 3 database, and the device is claimed to be running a 64-bit build of Android 5.1, but the more interesting detail is that it’s running on an Intel Atom processor. While we’re not sure whether this is actually the Galaxy Tab S2, due to the naming used in the database, the tablet is supposed to be powered by an unspecified 64-bit processor, so that could definitely be the device.
What implications could this have for its performance? Of course, the new tablet is likely going to beat the Galaxy Tab S when it comes to raw computing power, and reports claim that it can actually show a 64% improvement in 3D Mark 1.2 Unlimited. However, experts also claimed that this score seems suspiciously low as the S2 should actually be able to perform even better with this processor, and there is apparently something wrong with the physics calculations that is causing the problem.
Samsung have been producing their own processors for some of their devices recently, namely for the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S6 smartphone, and this has raised some questions about their current plans for the Galaxy Tab S2. However, there are various explanations for the situation and Samsung’s apparent decision to not use their own hardware here.
Some have speculated that the company doesn’t actually have the production facilities needed to make a chip like that, and they are just using whatever they have available for the Note 4 and Galaxy S6. On the other hand, the facilities required for a 20-nanometer chip are something they don’t have at their disposal right now, as they are already occupied by production for the Note 4.
On the other hand, we also have reports that the company is planning to assist Apple with chip production, which would place an even lower priority on producing chips for the Galaxy Tab S2, a product which will bring them significantly less benefit on the market compared to their partnership with Apple as well as their other products that require custom chips.
The only valid question that remains is why they didn’t go with Qualcomm instead, especially when we look at benchmark scores. Qualcomm’s chips tend to do a lot better than the Atom in some areas, making them an even more attractive option for a powerful tablet – so why didn’t Samsung go with that option?