Fastest Samsung Galaxy S4 Won’t Arrive in the U.S.

The best Samsung Galaxy S4 model may never make it to the majority of users thanks to Samsung’s decision to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor in the majority of the Samsung Galaxy S4 models sold.

A new report compares the power of the three Samsung Galaxy S4 variants and finds that the Samsung Exynos Octa 5 powered device delivers a nearly 20% boost in power and the upcoming Korean Samsung Galaxy S4 may deliver nearly 30% more power than the Snapdragon powered Galaxy S4 on the way to the U.S. thanks to a 1.8GHz Exynos Octa 5 processor.

The best Samsung Galaxy S4 model won’t make it to the U.S.

Samsung announced multiple versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4, and early reports indicate nearly 70% of the first shipment — including all the U.S. versions — will use the Snapdragon 600 processor. This is a very capable processor, and already found inside the HTC One, but users who are able to buy the international version with an Exynos processor could see better performance while using processor intense apps and better battery life.

An insider shared a Samsung Galaxy S4 benchmark from the International version of the Galaxy S4, the GT-I9500 which clocks in at 28,018. The Samsung Galaxy S4 benchmarks from the Snapdragon (GT-I9505) powered device are a respectable 23,607.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Exynos benchmark.

The HTC One delivers a similar 23,488 benchmark with AnTuTu. The slight difference is likely due to the lower clock speed on the HTC One.

The SamMobile report claims the Samsung Galaxy S4 (SHV-E300S) that is destined for Korea will include an even faster Exynos Octa 5 processor clocked at 1.8GHz, compared to 1.6GHz on the international version. While there are no benchmarks for this new model, we may see a score above 30,000.

To the average user, performance difference is negligible for day-to-day use, but power users may long for a faster processor while using resource heavy apps.

The biggest gain may be in the form of battery life. Samsung claims the Exynos Octa 5 processor uses 70% less power than a standard quad-core A15 processor.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a removable battery, and early tests of the Snapdragon powered model are promising, but mobile users can never get enough battery life.

The video below offers an overview of the bigLITTLE technology in the Exynos Octa 5 processor.

At this point there will be no Samsung Galaxy S4 with an Exynos Octa 5 processor in the U.S., but we may see Exynos Octa 5 power arrive with the rumored Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

In March Samsung confirmed that the Exynos Octa 5 processor supports 20 bands of LTE. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is rumored for a fall release, which could give Samsung enough time to catch up with supply of the Exynos Octa 5 processor, which may lead to a U.S. Galaxy Note 3 with Exynos inside.