Qualcomm has straightaway denied rumors which claimed LG ditched its octa-core Snapdragon 810 chip for the latest ‘G4’ flagship owing to overheating problems.
Unveiled earlier this week, the LG G4 is equipped with Qualcomm’s hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chip, instead of the latest and greatest Snapdragon 810 offering. Critics argue that if the 64-bit ARM-compatible Snapdragon 810 was problem-free, LG would have been chosen it for the new flagship G4.
Rumors of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chip facing overheating issues surfaced earlier this year when Samsung decided to equip the Galaxy S6 with its own octa-core chip rather than Qualcomm’s offering.
Qualcomm has denied the overheating claims saying that LG’s decision to equip the G4 with a Snapdragon 808 chip was made “over a year ago” and had nothing to do with the persistent rumors surrounding the 810.
Tim McDonough, head of marketing at Qualcomm, told CNET that “The decisions on which chipsets to put on which handsets come from over a year ago.”
Another Qualcomm spokesperson said the 808 was chosen as it has enough performance and will go easier on the battery, giving the G4 better longevity.
“It delivers the optimal balance between power and performance,” the representative said.
LG also came forward in Qualcomm’s defense, saying that its G Flex 2 smartphone ships with the Snapdragon 810 and has had no problems.
“I heard there was concern about Snapdragon 810 overheats since last year. But I think there can be some issues at [the] development stage and also that [those] kind of issues can be overcome by great engineers who never give up,” a company representative said.
