Current Galaxy S4 rumors say that Samsung will launch the next flagship phone at some point in early-to-mid 2013 and that the device will pack a new Exynos 5450 quad-core CPU (Cortex-A15) processor. But that’s not the only mobile chip Samsung is working on.

In fact, according to Engadget, the company will present an impressive 8-core big.LITTLE ARM processor in February at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC).

What’s so special about such a processor? Samsung's big.LITTLE architecture combines two quad-core processors, a 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A15 designed for heavy lifting when it comes to demanding apps, and a 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 that’s going to take care of more mundane day-to-day operations that take place on mobile devices. In other words, we’re looking at a 28nm process that's going to make better use of the available battery juice in future handsets and tablets.

Obviously, we’re very interested to see what’s going to be the first Samsung Android device to get the new chips, with next-year’s Galaxy Note 3 being definitely one candidate – mind you this is just speculation for now, as we still have to wait for Samsung to get official with its 8-core beast.

However, Samsung appears to be getting ready to unveil a variety of new technologies in early 2013, so we're expecting to see some of them in upcoming mobile devices. The company will showcase a 4.99-inch display with Full HD 1080p resolution at CES, which is also where it could reveal more details on its upcoming products that will feature a flexible display. Then a month later, this 8-core SoC will be unveiled, with MWC 2013 taking place in late February, a week after ISSCC. Not to mention that the Galaxy S4 could be unveiled either at CES or at MWC, depending on what rumor seems more plausible for you, and you end up with a busy new year for the company. Let's hope its main competitors are also ready to bring their A games to these upcoming events!