We still don’t know much about the next big update to Microsoft’s smartphone OS, which is codenamed “Apollo” and more commonly known as “Windows Phone 8.” Hard details will have to wait until the Windows Phone Summit in two weeks, but Qualcomm has revealed that its dual-core processors have been certified for use on Windows Phone 8 handsets.
Speaking to CNET Asia at Computex, Qualcomm Senior Vice President Rob Chandhok stated that his company’s “Snapdragon S4 chip has been certified for Windows Phone 8.” He followed this up by noting that “both cores would not be used” in all cases. That seems to imply one of three things: Microsoft and Qualcomm are future-proofing the next generation of Windows Phone, both cores will be used, or Windows Phone 8 is intelligent enough to disable the second core when it isn’t needed. The last option makes the most sense, since Windows Phone already performs great with single-core processors. Dual-core processors often drain the battery while only providing a small performance improvement in most cases. Enabling and disabling the additional core as needed might be a good solution for balancing performance and battery life.
Stay tuned. We’re likely to learn more at the summit, which will be live streamed for those who can’t make it to the invite-only event in San Francisco.
[CNET]
