Samsung is currently developing a 64-bit system-on-chip (SoC) called the Exynos 7872, according to latest industry rumors originating from China. The South Korean tech giant is said to be working on a piece of silicon manufactured using the 14nm FinFET LPP process, the same one that was utilized in the creation of the Exynos 8890, the company's 2016 SoC that's powering the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The Exynos 7872 will reportedly feature two Cortex-A73 cores for performance and a couple of Cortex-A53 cores for low-demanding tasks and energy conservation purposes, though their maximum clock frequencies remain a mystery. According to the same source, Samsung's upcoming SoC will ship with the Mali-T830 MP2, the same one that's onboard the Exynos 7870 and is responsible for rendering graphics on devices like the Galaxy J7 (2016), Galaxy A3 (2017), and the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016).

The new piece of Samsung-made silicon will also feature an integrated modem that's said to make the device more energy efficient than some of its predecessors while simultaneously improving its network connectivity capabilities. While the source claims that the processor will provide up to 70-percent better performance than Samsung's 28nm chips and be up to 30-percent less power-hungry than the same SoC family, it's currently unclear whether the rumored Exynos 7872 will only be an incremental upgrade over last year's Exynos 7870 that was also manufactured using the company's proprietary 14nm FinFET LPP process.

The Exynos 7872 is said to be launched in October, according to recent reports, though it remains to be seen whether that release window only pertains to its announcement or if that's when Samsung is already planning to commercialize the chip by launching it in some of its devices, though the latter scenario is more likely, some industry watchers believe. Outside of the Galaxy A and Galaxy C mid-range lineups, the Exynos 7872 is unlikely to be featured in smartphones and tablets made by third-party manufacturers. While the South Korean tech giant hasn't made any recent announcements regarding new mid-range SoCs that its chipmaking division is working on, the company recently confirmed that the second generation of its 10nm manufacturing process — the 10LPP (Low Power Plus) — is now ready for production after passing all necessary qualifications. The Seoul-based firm said that the process will be used for its new flagship SoCs that are expected to power its high-end mobile devices released in 2018, though the technology won't be applied in mass production prior to the final quarter of 2017 as Samsung is still in the process of upgrading its manufacturing facilities.