Chipset Samsung selected to power the Galaxy M44 is a huge surprise

Samsung's Galaxy M series is a mid-range handset line that is positioned below the firm's more capable Galaxy A series phones. With the model number of SM-M446K, the Galaxy M44 has been benchmarked on Geekbench, spotted first by 91mobiles. The benchmark test revealed that Samsung made an odd choice about the application processor found under the Galaxy M44's hood. Based on the Geekbench listing, it would appear that the model will be equipped with the three-year-old Snapdragon 888 SoC.

The fact that Sammy decided not to use a homegrown Exynos chipset on the device is news, especially for an M-series device. Even more surprising is that the chipset being used is one that started powering up mobile phones in 2020. For the Geekbench test, the device carried 6GB of RAM although a variant with 8GB of memory is possible. The listing also reveals that the Galaxy M44 will have One UI and Android 13 pre-installed.

The "K" at the end of the model number indicates that a version of the phone for the South Korean market was tested. The device is expected to surface first in India. The Geekbench test gave the Galaxy M44 a single-core score of 1531 with a multi-core score of 3771.

Since the Galaxy M44 is most likely going to have new and improved features compared to the just released Galaxy M34, we should take a look at the specs of the latter device. It sports a 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The rear camera array includes a 50MP primary with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro sensor for extreme closeups. The selfie snapper in front weighs in at 13MP.

Some Galaxy M series phones have as large as a 7000mAh battery keeping the lights on. The Galaxy M34 is equipped with a 6000mAh cell that supports 25W fast charging. That combo will probably be used on the Galaxy M44 as well.

The Galaxy M34 was released a couple of weeks ago featuring a tear-drop notch and was priced at Rs 16,999 in India which is equivalent to approximately $207 in U.S. currency. The Galaxy M44 should sport a price tag that contains a higher number.