Samsung unveils Exynos 9820 w/ 8K recording capability, support for up to 5 cameras, no 5G modem

Damien Wilde | Nov 14 2018 - 6:05 am PT

Samsung has unveiled a brand new flagship SoC, the Exynos 9820, which we expect to be packed into global variants of the as yet unannounced Samsung Galaxy S10. This latest high-end Exynos CPU adds the ability to record up to 8K video and support for up to five cameras. One key omission though: no 5G modem.

The Exynos 9820 succeeds this year’s Exynos 9810, which was packed into the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S9+. That points to our earlier assertion that this chipset will likely find a new home in the upcoming S10.

It features a brand new design that should see up to 20 percent better performance with up to 40 percent better power efficiency. Whilst we saw exceptional battery life on the Note 9 — thanks to the 4000mAh battery — this could mean even better battery life in upcoming Samsung flagships.

This new configuration changes the CPU from a 4+4 arrangement effectively to a 2+2+4 setup, this allows for two Cortex A75 CPUs for middle performance, two Samsung CPUs for pure unadulterated power, with four Cortex A55 CPUs help achieve maximum power efficiency.

Camera powerhouse

Two of the most intriguing new additions with the Exynos 9820 include the ability to record 8K video at 30FPS and support for up to five cameras. Whilst the former is no surprise, the ability to capture 8K video at all will put Samsung ahead of the competition in the video stakes at least for the time being.

Playing back that 8K video might be more of a problematic area, with very few affordable 8K capable displays available to the public. Would we even notice the difference on a quad HD phone display? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Five camera support is less initially impressive as we are seeing devices with multiple rear-facing and front-facing cameras. This aligns with the rumors we have heard of the Samsung Galaxy S10 heading to market with three rear-facing cameras and dual front-facing cameras. We’ve even seen the Samsung Galaxy A9 released with four rear-facing cameras already this year, so this is the next obvious step.

4K support has also been bolstered with this new chipset, with the option to record 4K UHD at 150FPS. We could finally get proper slow motion 4K footage on our Samsung handsets.

Whilst this is all great news for Samsung devices, unfortunately, those in North America will likely never see an Exynos 9820-powered Galaxy S10 as the company tend to release devices with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips in North American markets.

No 5G support…yet

Even though there are rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S10 supporting 5G, there was no support mentioned for the new cellular standard with the Exynos 9820. This adds further fuel to the fire that we might see a separate 5G variant of the Galaxy S10.

As for availability, Samsung says that the Exynos 9820 will enter mass production by the end of this year. We’re very much excited to see if our prediction of an Exynos 9820-powered Galaxy S10 will come true.