Samsung better get ready to hear complaints from potential Galaxy S4 customers in the UK, as the company confirms the UK Galaxy S4 will not ship with the 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos processor, as announced at the Galaxy S4 event. The UK will receive the Galaxy S4 with the 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip, the same version that the U.S. will receive.
When Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 it expected to ship its latest flagship smartphone to some markets with its new Exynos 5 octa-core processor. Samsung also announced that the U.S. would instead receive the Galaxy S4 with a 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor. Samsung did announce that the processor would vary between markets, but stated that the UK would benefit from its eight-core processor. This is no longer the case and Samsung is not giving any reason why it has reversed its decision. Samsung only issued a statement regarding the matter to Trusted Reviews:
"Samsung Galaxy S 4 is equipped with a 1.9GHz Quad-core AP or a 1.6GHz Octa-core AP. The selection of AP varies by markets; in the UK the Galaxy S4 will be available as a 4G device with a 1.9GHz Quad Core Processor."
Samsung hasn't even released the Galaxy S4 and it is already facing backlash from prominent developers who have publicly stated they will not purchase or develop for the Galaxy S4 due to the smartphone shipping with two different processors. The developers feel it will be "a pain to maintain" and develop for a single smartphone with two different processors.
It is also a major embarrassment for a company as big as Samsung to announce at its Galaxy S4 unveiling event that the UK would benefit from the eight-core processor only to announce a few days later with no explanation that it will be receiving the quad-core processor variant instead. Note to Samsung: your UK customers are going to be upset with you. Don't promise something you can't deliver, or check your facts before announcing it on stage at Radio City Music Hall.
