Samsung's mid-range handsets could soon include 11 nm chipsets

Smartphones are improving in terms of technology and functionalities, but aside from the aesthetic improvements, most of the enhancements come in the form of superior chipsets. The systems-on-chip or SoC can be said to be the primary feature of any given smartphone or tablet and plays the most important part in determining the efficiency and functionalities of the device. Most smartphones in use these days sport chipsets based on the 14 nm architecture.

However, Samsung has now announced a new 11 Nm architecture chipset for its lower end and mid-range smartphones.

What does Samsung’s announcement mean?

Most mid-range smartphones are equipped with Snapdragon chipsets and these SoCs usually come with the older 14 nm architecture, which limits the efficiency and overall performance of the smartphone. On Monday, Samsung announced that it is currently in the process of producing 11 nm chipsets for all of its mid-range handsets. Most high end Android handsets now use Snapdragon 835 SoC or the 10 nm Exynos 8895 chipset based on 10 nm architecture. Both chips provide slightly better performance than the upcoming 11 nm chipsets.

The 14 nm or 14LPP chips are found aboard the Samsung mid-rangers such as the Galaxy A series and the Galaxy J range of smartphones launched in 2017. However, with the release of the 11LPP SoCs the company may soon be able to equip the Galaxy A and Galaxy J series with the better and faster chipsets. Samsung revealed that the 11LPP technology offered 15 percent increase in performance when compared to the 14LPP in use currently. The 11LPP chipsets will also be 20 percent smaller in size when compared to the 14LPP ones, but will retain the power consumption of the latter.

What else does Samsung have in store?

With the announcement of the 11LPP chipset, Samsung is on its way to achieving its ultimate goal.

The roadmap of the progression for chip making from Samsung was such that it started from 14 nm SoC, and continues with the 11 nm, 10 nm, 8 nm, and ends at 7 nm within the next three years. While this may sound like a colossal job, the company has already been working on the 7LPP EUV or extreme ultra violet chipset. It is currently in the developmental stage and Samsung claims that it will start production in the second half of 2018. In May, Samsung revealed that it was working on 7 nm technology. During that same time, the company also mentioned that its ultimate goal is to create a 4 nm chipset.