With Qualcomm’s difficulty in meeting the LTE-integrated Snapdragon S4 Krait chipset demand, manufacturers like HTC bear the brunt of the shortage, as it now reportedly using the Snapdragon S3 on the HTC One S, in select Asian and European markets.
The previous generation dual-core S3 processor on the HTC One S has been clocked at 1.7GHz, a deal faster, but far less power-efficient, than the current-gen 1.5GHz S4 Krait normally coupled with upper mid-range (the top-end is now assumed to be quad-core) device.
Just which markets in Asia and Europe will be receiving the S3-powered HTC One S is not known, though Japan and South Korea are reportedly exempt from the downgrade. To be sure though, just check the specifications and the processor field.
The HTC One S has not yet been launched in India, despite its two siblings, the top-end HTC One X (read our review) and the lower-end HTC One V (read our review), hitting the market nearly two months ago. After numerous reports over the period, the device is currently expected to launch in India on June 15, at roughly Rs. 33,000, with other major markets in Asia getting it on June 16.
So while it is possible India will receive the downgraded, S3-based HTC One S for a while, HTC points out it is working to fix the S4 shortage problem as quickly as it can – so there’s a fair bit of hope S4-powered One S units will be Indian shelves soon enough.
