Windows Phone 8 is going dual-core, according to a report from The Verge. Qualcomm indicated that the Windows Phone development team is currently testing its Snapdragon S4 system on a chip in a device to be released later this year. As you may recall, Windows Phone 8 “Apollo” is rumored to add support for multi-core devices, paving the way for Windows Phone devices to see the same processing prowess we’ve come to expect from Android and iOS devices. The Snapdragon S4 will feature clock speeds of 1.5 GHz, and will tote the Adreno 225 GPU for enhanced graphical capabilities. This combination has been lethal when it comes to benchmarking scores, with results from devices running Qualcomm’s S4 doubling those from the Galaxy S2 and Droid 4 devices.
Sprint is currently in the running for such a device, and has sent over its LTE specifications to Nokia. With Sprint currently working to roll out their LTE network starting next quarter and full-implementation of the network expected by Q4 2013, a powerful Sprint Windows Phone device could be what Sprint needs to turn the ship around and get people interested in their network once again.
We won’t likely be seeing a Sprint Nokia S4 device until later this year, perhaps just in time for the ever-busy holiday season. Windows Phone 8 is not rumored to be available to consumers until the 4th quarter of 2012. This launch window will give Nokia time to prepare the Windows Phone device of our dreams, one that could take off on Srint’s further-reaching LTE network.
Hopefully, we will hear much more about dual-core Windows Phone devices a bit later this year, though we almost assuredly will not see these devices launched before Windows Phone 8 is unveiled in Q4. By that time, quad-core phones running Apple’s A6, nVidia’s Tegra 3, or Qualcomm’s own quad-core S4 chipsets will be making their way into devices, potentially forcing Windows Phone to play catch up once more.
Personally, I’m excited to see what Nokia and Sprint come up with for the first Windows 8 device. We’ll bring you the goods once we know more.
[via The Verge]