Galaxy S III to have quad-core Exynos SoC with built-in LTE?

A report from the Korea Times today cites an anonymous Samsung executive as saying that the company is preparing a quad-core system-on-chip to power the successor to the Galaxy S II, which, importantly, will have Samsung’s own LTE modem built in. We’ve written at length about Nvidia’s problem of not having an LTE-compatible Tegra 3 configuration to offer to US carriers — a hurdle that’s mostly been erected by Qualcomm’s refusal to help a direct competitor integrate its LTE modems into the chip — and this news seems to show Samsung had the foresight to develop its own alternative in time for the GS III launch. Citing a second Samsung executive, the report goes on to note that the company has already used its LTE solution in the Galaxy Nexus in the United States and feels confident about its compatibility and reliability.

As usual with Samsung and the Galaxy S III, however, this remains unconfirmed information. When the Korea Times reached out to Qualcomm and Samsung for official comment, its requests were met with a wall of silence. The latest intel we’d previously heard on the matter was that Samsung was considering using Qualcomm’s MSM8960 — a system-on-chip that combines LTE and application processor into one, dropping Samsung’s hardware — or some combination of Samsung- and Qualcomm-built parts. The addition of a Samsung LTE modem to the upcoming 32nm Exynos processor could take care of that problematic choice very easily and free up Samsung from having to rely on Qualcomm’s consent for future products.