Over the past two years, Samsung have expanded their Galaxy A series with the Quantum and Quantum 2. Moving from Exynos chipsets towards MediaTek and Qualcomm alternatives, these new models claim to have the best random number generation technology that can fit inside a smartphone.
Source: Unsplash
RNG Importance
Random number generation has been used for centuries with simple tools like dice. In the modern age, we use hardware and pseudorandom variants that have digitalized the process and expanded its capacity for random outcomes. In recent years, this has improved even further by adding quantum random number generators into the chipsets of big-name smartphones.
Human beings cannot predict modern RNG technology. That’s why we have improved RNG tech over the decades due to its practical and entertaining uses. For example, playing games on the internet relies on a lot of digital dice rolls that are managed by an RNG. There are exceptions, like when people play online roulette for real money through a live stream, with a real roulette wheel. With digital roulette wheels and card decks, they use RNG tech to mimic the randomness of a spin or a card draw while sticking to the rules of the game.
Outside of fun and games, RNG tech keeps improving because it’s also used by password managers and other security software. While we can already fool humans, it’s possible for one computer to compromise another. As such, there is an ever-increasing cybersecurity standard that needs to be met to keep devices safe. With mobile phones, security is taken very seriously due to how much information we store on them and how much contact they get with the outside world.
Samsung’s Quantum Leap
In 2020, Samsung made a first by working with Korea’s SK Telecom to bring the Galaxy A Quantum to market. If you’re unsure where that fits in Samsung’s roster, it’s essentially an upgraded variant of their Galaxy A71 5G model. Along with being one of the first 5G smartphones, it boasted ID Quantique’s QRNG chip and the Exynos 980 chipset.
ID Quantique & @SKtelecom announce the world’s first #5G #quantum-powered #smartphone, the “Galaxy A Quantum”, a custom edition of the Samsung Galaxy A71 #cybersecurity #quantumtech https://t.co/Lq4ex2y2qi
— ID Quantique (@IDQuantique) May 13, 2020
Using quantum physics to ensure randomness, QRNG chips manage the local security and connectivity infrastructure in a smartphone. That way, everyday security and connections to smart devices through IoT are better protected.
Newer Quantum Smartphones
This was just the start of a new series of quantum smartphones from Samsung. Each subsequent one has expanded the protection that QRNG offers after proving its viability with the Galaxy Quantum 1. Each new variant (Quantum 2, 3, and 4) has also come with more powerful versions of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset.
The QRNG chip also got smaller, as often happens in tech, with the Quantum 2’s being just 2.5mm. The Quantum 2 was made from the Galaxy A82 while the Quantum 3 switched to the M-series with the M53.
Through its partnership with IQ Quantique, Samsung still leads the market in offering QRNG security in their smartphones. They won’t be the last, however, as other manufacturers seek to include as many special features and components as possible for their latest releases.
