Grab your salt-shakers, people, this one's a doozy. According to BGR, their "trusted sources", whom we heard from a while back, have leaked a few extra details regarding the alleged HD screen and quad-core processor. Apparently the rumored quad-core processor will be a Samsung Exynos, clocked to 1.5GHz, tucked underneath an astonishing 4.8" 1080p display.

Not an actual image of the device.

Here's the full list of specs, according to BGR's sources:

  • 1.5GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor
  • 4.8-inch “full HD” 1080p resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio display
  • A 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera
  • Ceramic case
  • 4G LTE
  • Android 4.0

While most of these specs sound perfectly reasonable and even expected (a Galaxy S III launching without LTE or ICS would be unacceptable), we're a little skeptical of some of these specs. While buzzwords will always grab headlines, packing a 1080p display into a 4.8" screen would result in about 459 pixels per inch. For reference, the unaided human eye is generally incapable of seeing beyond about 300 ppi. It's a little hard to stomach that Samsung has done the engineering necessary to cram that many pixels into so small a space when there is, at best, a tiny minority of the population that is physically capable of telling the difference between that and a 720p display in the exact same space.

What's worse is that a 1080p screen would require more processing power and cause lower framerates versus an identical processor behind a lower-resolution screen. A 1080p screen in a 4.8" device might actually be worse since it would be demanding more power for virtually no gain. Again, it's hard to believe that Samsung didn't consider this.

On the other hand, buzzwords sell, and Samsung is the company that put a projector in a phone, so who knows? We're taking this whole set of rumors with enough salt to give us all high blood pressure, though. You probably should, too.

Source: BGR