Samsung today announced the release of its latest System-on-Chip (SoC) for mobile devices under a new branding — the Exynos ModAP. This is the first Exynos chip from the company to come with an integrated 4G LTE modem, whose lack has generally been the chipset’s Achilles heel. 

The inclusion of an LTE modem means that Samsung can use its own in-house chipset in the North American and European markets, where 4G LTE networks are prevalent. The modem supports both Cat 4 and LTE Release 9 of 3GPP, allowing it to support LTE networks with a maximum theoretical download speed of 150Mbps. Qualcomm still has a slight advantage here as its latest Snapdragon 805 chip supports LTE-A networks that can provide a download speed of up to 225Mbps.

The chip itself is based on the 28nm HKMG fabrication process, which will allow it to run cooler than the previously released Exynos chips by Samsung. It also comes with an advanced Image Signal Processor (ISP), which is capable of delivering a memory bandwidth of 6.4GB/s and can handle 8MP burst shots at 30FPS.

Unlike other Exynos chips though, the Exynos ModAP comes a quad-core processor. Samsung also announced the release of the Exynos companion chip, which are “optimized connectivity chips that enhance the way mobile devices handle various modes of connectivity, in order to ensure a simple life.”

We should see Samsung use the Exynos ModAP chip in its upcoming flagship — the Galaxy Note 4 — which has been rumored to release with an Exynos chip sporting an integrated LTE modem.