New quad-core chips keep Windows Phone in the race, barely

Qualcomm has announced a new Snapdragon 400 chip that looks like it will finally bring quad-core to Windows Phone 8 (WP8). Known as the MSM8926, the 1.2GHz quad-core chip is the first glance we’ve had at a foreseeable quad-core future for WP8, and supports 4G LTE connections. Microsoft made big promises regarding multi-core support when Windows Phone 8 was first unveiled. Those promises were quickly kep with an immediate release of dual-core devices. Unfortunately, after WP dual-cores finally made themselves known things just stopped.

Does WP8 even need quad-cores?

To be clear, WP8 devices don’t currently need quad-cores in order to compete with their contemporary quad-powered Androids. WP is a closed ecosystem and as such can run much more efficiently on weaker parts. But that’s not the point. The point is that most consumers don’t know this, so WP’s seeming inability to ‘keep up’ with modern hardware is damaging Microsoft and its OEMs on the marketing front. Microsoft must know this and yet it proudly displays its inferior specs as if they’re something to be proud of at every opportunity. Microsoft could stand to learn something from the even-more vertically-integrated Apple that doesn’t focus on its hardware as a yardstick for quality, instead marketing its ecosystem as a whole.

Too little, too late?

This potential move to quad-core for Microsoft would be well-timed in terms of what’s necessary to power a Windows Phone, but it’s too late in terms of public perception. This is especially likely considering the 400’s low clock speed of 1.2GHz, compared to the already-released quad 1.7GHz and above CPUs found on Android. This WP quad-core entry is not being heralded as a big thing now, but we can’t imagine that Microsoft and its manufacturers won’t proudly announce the first quad-core WP8 device when it finally hits shelves. This will possibly be just in time to see even more Android octa-cores, like the already-released 3G variant of the Galaxy S4. We might even start seeing low powered quad-cores like the Snapdragon 400 in mid-range Android devices around the same date. It’s good to see that a 4G-enabled quad-core chip for WP8 is on the way, but only because it means that WP8 won’t be falling behind in terms of hardware-powered user experience. In terms of consumer perception WP could stand to sacrifice a little battery power in favor of bigger CPUs, if only because it looks better on a bill-board.