The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone - the subject of more than a few rumours of the past couple of weeks - will use one of the company's own-brand quad-core processors, rather than one by Qualcomm. A "high-ranking" Samsung executive revealed that the new device will switch to the manufacturer's own Exynos processor.

Samsung says it has made the decision partly because it is losing faith in Qualcomm. As reported in the Korean Times, the nameless senior executive said: "Samsung has a stronger intent to lower its dependence on Qualcomm and our technicians believe that we have made significant progress in producing logic-based chips for high-end devices, combined logic and memory chips for graphic controllers and core communication chips for internet-enabled consumer devices.

"Samsung is paying huge amounts to Qualcomm in return for using its single-chip solutions in strategic digital devices. However, Qualcomm is gradually losing its edge." 

The Exynos 4412 chip - the one expected to run the Galaxy S III - will be made with 32-nanometer technology, and is claimed to run 26 per cent faster than the current 45-nanometer version. Battery life is also expected to benefit, being improved by 50 per cent.

Are you looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S III launch? Let us know in the comments below...