Samsung Galaxy Smartphone (Photo : REUTERS/GUSTAU NACARINO)
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is likely the first flagship device to showcase the power that Qualcomm will pack with the Snapdragon 820. The monster chip, its maker said, is all geared up to impress in 2016 and just in time for the rumored GS7 release date in the first quarter of the year.
Reports that came out last week indicate that the SD 820 is indeed being considered by Samsung to provide the horsepower for its first 2016 flagship, alongside its own Exynos 7430. The 820 chip is expected to boost up the power and energy efficiency rating of the Galaxy S7 but Qualcomm is bringing more than that to the game.
To unpack with the SD 820, the giant chipmaker said, is a cutting-edge technology the company called Smart Protect. According to 9to5Google, the SD 820 built-in feature is designed to provide "real-time, on-device machine learning designed to support accurate and effective detection of zero-day malware threats for improved personal privacy and device security."
It might be that rival firms will offer the same protection but Qualcomm insists that the SD 820 is the first to do so.
And with Smart Protect activated by default on SD 820 powered devices, the emphasis is not only on superb mobile device performance and prolonged battery life but also on users' guarded privacy and security of their daily mobile driver.
"Snapdragon Smart Protect supports deep on-device monitoring for nearly instantaneous notifications of detected privacy violations and malicious activity while also providing great system performance and battery life," Qualcomm said.
With Smart Protect, Qualcomm aims to safeguard privacy of users, prevent data leakages and thwart malware attacks, 9to5Google said on its report.
This early, Qualcomm is now collaborating with mobile security app makers like Avast and AVG so their respective applications will be ready in time for the Smart Protect and SD 820 launch.
And the Samsung Galaxy S7 could end up as the first recipient of the beneficial features that the Snapdragon 820 will bring to the table at the start of 2016. The S7 flagship is rumored for a release date shortly after the CES 2016 in Las Vegas, which kicks off late January. As a bonus, GS7 is likely the first Samsung device too to run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
