First reported by Android Greed, it seems a new, faster version of Samsung’s popular Galaxy S4 smartphone may soon be spotted outside of its home country of Korea. The device, model number GT-I9506, has received Bluetooth certification, and it is now under consideration by the FCC, which is a key step for a release in the United States.

Hardware

While it is still technically speculation, the GT-I9506 will likely make use of Qualcomm’s newest quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which was first seen in the LG G2 that was released earlier this month. While the Snapdragon 600 found in the currently available Galaxy S4 devices is by no means slow, the next generation of mobile processors continues to impress. The new Snapdragon 800 sports a 20% higher clock speed at 2.3 GHz compared to the old 1.9 GHz, and Qualcomm claims that the Adreno 330 provides 50% increased graphics processing capacity and two times the compute processing performance of the previous generation.

In addition, it supports a display resolution up to 2560×2048, and it includes a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port. While widespread use of USB 3.0 is in no way a reality at the moment, Samsung must expect adoption of the new data transfer technology to pick up soon enough, or this device would have a USB 2.0 port.

Impact

For the readers who just want to know what this new hardware means for the average consumer, a few conclusions can be drawn from the upgrade. Android Beat reports that the Snapdragon 800 includes improvements to battery life. Under the same strain, devices equipped with the new processor will last 25% longer than Snapdragon 600 devices before needing to be charged. Coupled with battery-saving Galaxy S4 accessories like the S-View Flip Cover, this is a solid improvement and a welcomed relief.

Aside from improvements to battery life, Geek expects that devices will run much cooler under strain, reporting that playing games for thirty minutes had no impact on temperature. They also point out that their Snapdragon 800 test device loads large apps lightning fast. In addition, the Snapdragon 800 raises mobile computing performance enough to allow a new level of gaming on mobile devices.

The new processor’s HD display resolution and OpenGL ES 3.0 support allow game developers to take advantage of the latest graphic effects in creating amazing 3D games for high-end gamers.

Rounding out the feature list, the new Galaxy S4 with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor includes support for 1080p HD Miracast and low-power voice control that even listens while on standby. The result is a vocally-controlled device that requires no touch input and wirelessly broadcasts its screen in full HD to Miracast-capable monitors and televisions.

With so many powerful features, those who currently own a Galaxy S4 device may certainly be jealous enough to trade up to the newer model, and those without are best advised to wait until model GT-I9506 makes its debut on this side of the Pacific.