Samsung is said to be intensively testing the Snapdragon 820

A couple of weeks ago we first heard that Samsung might use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset for next year's Galaxy S7, and now a new report pretty much confirms this possibility.

According to a Korean publication, Samsung is currently busy putting the Snapdragon 820through some very intensive testing. The results of all those tests will have a bearing in whether Samsung decides to use the Snapdragon 820 in the Galaxy S7 or not.

At the moment things seem to be going well, which means we may once again see a Samsung flagship with two SoC choices, each offered in certain markets only. This was the case for a few years, until this year when the Galaxy S6 only went with Samsung's own Exynos chipset. The reason for that probably has something to do both with the performance of the Exynos 7420, but also with the much-publicized overheating problems that the Snapdragon 810 encounters.

Its successor, the Snapdragon 820, is set to be quite different in that regard, though, so it may once again be seen in a high-end Samsung device.

Leaked Samsung docs show Galaxy S7 testing with Snapdragon 820 and Android M!

Remember the rumors that Samsung is testing the next Galaxy S7 with Qualcomm chipsets, as well as with its own custom Exynos chippery? Well, according to a report from a well-versed industry insider who posted some leaked docs on their Weibo account, Samsung is indeed toying around with a Snapdragon 820 variation of the S7.

Codenamed "Jungfrau," the Galaxy S7 might see a month or two faster development schedule than the Galaxy S6, courtesy of an improved project management process, dubbed "Agile." This could very well jibe with the previous rumors that Galaxy S7 will be ready in the second half of the year, though it might not exactly hit the shelves in time for Christmas, but rather be announced earlier than usual when 2016 hits.

In any case, turning back to the leaked Samsung docs below, these are for the internal Android M upgrade schedule, and on one we can clearly see the codename Jungfrau used along with the "hero" device notation, while on the other the Galaxy S7 Jungfrau is listed with a Qualcomm MSM8996 version, which is the internal codename of none other but Snapdragon 820. In a nutshell, Samsung might indeed be testing Galaxy S7 with both a new Exynos, and the upcoming Snapdragon scorcher, while the Android M update work has obviously been greenlit, too, so we might indeed witness a sped-up development scenario for Samsung's next flagship.

Galaxy S7 could be ready by December as Samsung reportedly improves development process.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 might be a while away yet, but this doesn't mean that we can't take a peek into the future. Currently, we know precious little about what Sammy is or isn't planning to tweak with its next flagship, but with the current Galaxy S6 only a few months old, this is perhaps to be expected. Despite the lack of any exciting leaks, Samsung could be looking to revamp the development process entirely, having reportedly ditched its old 'Waterfall' method and switched to the apparently more productive, 'Agile' system. Put simply, this could shave up to two months off the length of time it would take to develop the Galaxy S7, paving the way for a much earlier market release.

The Agile method divides the various aspects of development up into little chunks, each of which are then completed at light speed. Once a module is completed, it is subsequently tested, and not only is it a quicker overall process, but changes can be made a lot more easily. The Waterfall method, conversely, leaves much less margin for error, since it pertains to a rigid system that once a certain stage is complete, turning back to make changes is difficult-to-impossible. 

If Samsung is rolling with Agile as is being reported by AsiaToday, it's reasonable to suggest that the S7's launch could be brought forward. The company always looks to steal the show at MWC, as it did with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge earlier on this year. But if it can beat some of its major competitors to the draw, this would be even more advantageous, since the S7 will be in many hands before the likes of LG, Sony and HTC have a chance to make an argument.