The era of such “cool" phones began in January 2013. At that time, Samsung introduced the first, eight-core smartphones with an ARM processor at CES. Immediately we want to note that these are not completely full-fledged, constantly working kernels. In the Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3, the processor, depending on the complexity of the task it performs, activates either four Cortex-A7, economical, or four ARM Cortex-A15, very powerful. These “clusters” cannot work in parallel.
Top flagships Samsung Galaxy S5 and another Korean - LG G3
At the moment, 8-core smartphones represent many devices. Samsung Galaxy S5 - one of the top. It has a new Exynos chipset, which has eight cores, and, finally, they all work simultaneously. A dream come true lovers of sophisticated devices. Screen - 5.25 inches, resolution - 2560x1440 (2K), display - HD Amoled.
For this device, RAM has a record size of 3 GB. The battery is quite powerful - 4000 mAh, the camera is also not weak - 16 MP. So if you need a powerful high-quality smartphone, the beautiful Samsung Galaxy S5 is what you need.
Approximately the same characteristics are another top South Korean model - LG G3. It has a similar processor on eight cores, except that the chip with a different, 64-bit architecture. Camera - 16 megapixels, display - Ultra-HD (2K) with a resolution of 2560x1440. The presence of a fingerprint sensor is an innovative solution.
Chinese Zopo ZP998 and Huawei Honor 3X
Competitors producing 8-core Chinese smartphones are not far behind companies from South Korea. Let's consider some of them. Let's start with the Zopo ZP998, which was the first to work simultaneously with all eight cores. This happened in November 2013. It has a Full-HDZopo display, a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, a five and a half inches screen, RAM - 2 GB, 32 GB of memory built into the device, two SIM cards and a 14 MP camera.
The device works on Android 4.2. There is also a fingerprint sensor. A smartphone from the Celestial Huawei Honor 3X may also deserve your attention. The RAM is the same, 2 GB, the camera is a little weaker - 13 megapixels. Differences: the battery is more powerful - at 3000 mAh, both SIM cards can work in 3G networks, a very strong front camera, 5 megapixels, a good assistant for video communication. Unfortunately, there is also a drawback: the resolution is only 1280x720 pixels with a five and a half inches display and IPS screen.
Alcatel One Touch Idol X +, THL T100s Iron Man, Meizu MX4 and Gionee Elife E7 mini
Alcatel has been selling the One Touch Idol X + device for about a year, the characteristics of which are similar to the previous ones: cameras, displays and RAM are the same. But, which is very remarkable, the kit includes a BOOMband, a fitness bracelet that will delight those who lead a very active lifestyle. Also, the owner of this gadget will get real pleasure from listening to music - thanks to two stereo speakers. The Chinese company Meizu released the MX4 smartphone in two versions: a 5.5-inch, with a good resolution of 2560x1440 pixels and an Ultra-HD display, as well as a five-inch one, with a lower resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, and a high-quality Full-HD display.
Both versions support fourth-generation 4G LTE networks. The T100s Iron Man smartphone has the same specifications, only its camera is Sony. Considering the 8-core smartphones, we can recall the Indian flagship Gionee, which released a miniature model Elife E7 mini, which nevertheless has a 13 megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM and a 4.7 HD screen.
$ 145 smartphone with eight cores: Xiaomi Redmi Note
This phone is one of the first to support 4G networks for the Indian market, which also has an affordable price. Released in two versions: Redmi Note 4G, as well as Redmi Note, for 3G networks. Both models are 8-core smartphones with almost identical characteristics. The last one is equipped with a MT6592 chip, 2 GB of RAM, built-in - 8 GB and support for 32 GB microSD-cards. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 standard glass, the matrix is IPS, the resolution is 720p. Its OS is Android 4.2, also called Jelly Bean. The battery has a capacity of 3100 mAh.
There are two cameras: on the back cover - 13 megapixels, front - 5 megapixels. Supports two, standard size, SIM cards. Cost - 145 dollars. The 4G model is almost no different from the younger model. Processor - MSM8928, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, having a clock frequency of 1.6 GHz, installed by Android 4.4, called KitKat. Supports the operation of one SIM card, LTE-network and 64 GB microSD-card.
Linshof i8 - a German smartphone for $ 380 on Android 5.0
This is the first flagship smartphone from the German company Linshof. It has an 8-megapixel front module and a 12-megapixel main camera with an F1.8 aperture and a 28 mm lens. The clock frequency of the eight core processor is 2.1 GHz, the screen is 1920 x 1080 pixels, 3 GB is RAM. Black or coffee colored aluminum is the body material.
The gadget has LTE, GPS, NFC, USB, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI 1.4 modules, a gyroscope, an electronic compass and a 3100 mAh high-capacity battery. Functions under the fifth Android, called Lollipop. Until Linshof began to produce 8-core smartphones, we did not hear about it. Also, this company announced a tablet with a 10-inch Retina display and a super-powerful battery - 9,000 mAh.
Cheapest Chinese smartphone: K Touch Nibiru Mars One H1 with 8 cores
And that's not all the 8-core smartphones currently available. The list for today is completed by the K Touch Nibiru Mars One H1. Everyone knows that the production of smartphones in China is booming, for which all conditions are created here. Why is this happening? Because their products are almost not inferior to the leading global manufacturers, and prices are much less. The next record promises to put a phone, named by us, which should go on sale before April 2015. It will become the cheapest eight-core smartphone with a Full HD display. The platform is MediaTek MT6592, the clock frequency is 1.7 GHz, standard 2 GB of RAM, a built-in 16 GB drive, two good cameras: 13 megapixel on the back, five megapixels on the front. In addition, the front camera should receive wide-angle optics, and now, no matter how many people take part in the video call, everyone will get into the frame. K Touch Nibiru Mars One H1 also has a magnificent Full-HD five-inch display, it has all wireless modules except LTE. What else are characterized by 8-core smartphones?
Android is the operating system that is installed on them. In our case, this is Google Android 4.2.2, called Jelly Bean and the Nibiru interface. The cost of this magnificent model is approximately 6000 rubles.
conclusions
Buyers often think about whether or not it makes sense to buy an 8-core smartphone. How will applications, games work on it, how long will the battery last? This problem was already in the transition to two and four cores. Manufacturers have long found solutions to all emerging issues. First, operating systems are optimized to run on more cores. Secondly, in order not to decrease battery life, Huawei and Samsung are adopting special technologies to prevent this, for example, ARM big.LITTLE. Thirdly, the performance of phones will increase markedly, especially when all eight cores are made to work simultaneously. So it's up to you to buy or not.