Samsung Galaxy S4 adds insult to injury as eight-core smashes quad-core in tests

Samsung Galaxy S4 adds insult to injury as eight-core smashes quad-core
Eight cores ARE better than four

We already know the US and Europe won't be getting treated to the ludicrous octa-core Samsung Galaxy S4, but now the fact has really been rubbed in our faces.

A SamMobile 'insider' and GSMArena have put the latest versions of Samsung's latest flagship handset through some benchmarks tests and the eight core S4 didn't just beat its quadruple-toting brother, it obliterated it.

The international Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500), which sports a 1.6GHz Octa processor but no 4G connectivity, managed to rack up the impressive score of 28,018 on Antutu - a popular Android benchmarking application.

Meanwhile the handset destined for the US and UK (GT-I9505), packing a 1.9GHz quad-core chip and 4G, only posted 23,607 on the same test.

In your face

It's also been suggested that the eight-core Galaxy S4 will actually produce better power efficiency thanks to ARM's big.LITTLE technology - reducing fears of a fast draining battery.

According to Antutu's ranking page the Galaxy S4 is in a league of its own with rivals such as the Google Nexus 4, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 and HTC One X+ all registering scores of below 20,000.

Is it right that Samsung is denying certain markets the chance to get hold of the more powerful - and possibly more efficient - Galaxy S4 or is this talk of eight cores just simply ridiculous?

One member of TechRadar certainly knows where he stands.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.