Phones and mobile devices are dwindling in size and increasing in power lately – it’s all about portability, especially with the new breed of wearables we’ve been seeing. However, a lot of restrictions and hurdles are to be navigated when building one of these devices in terms of hardware. A unique new chip has been made by Samsung, and now the company has begun manufacturing the clever device.
The new ’embedded package on package’ or ePoP chip is the first of its kind built for mobiles, and combines two of the most important parts of a device on the same tiny component. Both RAM and storage memory are present on the chip, the RAM being a component the device using to perform tasks and the storage memory sued to store things, such as images and music.
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This hasn’t ever been attempted in the industry before, as the construction of such a component was previously limited by a vulnerability in storage memory which meant it was sensitive to heat. Samsung’s ePoP chip uses special heat resistant qualities, secret of course, to get the component to work properly without the memory getting too toasty.
In fact, the ePoP chip is so heat resistant that Samsung claims that it could even be stacked on top of a device’s main processor, or CPU, itself another big generator of heat. As a bonus the heat resistance of the ePoP chip may also help dissipate heat from the processor.
The current model boasts a decent 3GB of RAM as well as 32GB of storage space, a pretty standard package for a mobile phone, and definitely enough for a decent wearable. If combined with a modern 8-core processor such as a Snapdragon 810, the duo could together form a powerhouse package for a smartphone or wearable. In fact this means that with just two chips the core of a device is formed.
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Another bonus to having this two chip stack at the core of a device is the issue of space. Very small device means less innards, and a big concern for everyone is battery life. Right now devices are being criticized for the amount of charging required and the huge impact using certain apps has on the battery. With up to 40% more space offered when using the ePoP chip it could mean a bigger battery or a thinner device.
Of course, power consumption can be influenced by the quality of the processor, and it’s not yet known whether power consumption is better or worse than before with the ePoP chip. It does seem that it may use less power though, since it’s smaller and less complicated. Samsung will continue ePoP development and the chip should arrive in devices in due time.
Via: Business Wire
Via: Techspot