Samsung is doubling down on attempts to get its latest Exynos 2500 chips ready for use inside the Samsung Galaxy S25 series
TL;DR
Samsung Wants Exynos 2500 SoC Inside Galaxy S25 Series
- Samsung is reportedly working to improve its Exynos 2500 chipset for the Galaxy S25 series, despite earlier plans to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 GEN 4.
- Current yield rates for the Exynos 2500 are low (around 20%), far below the ideal 60%.
- The Exynos 2500 is rumored to outperform the Snapdragon 8 GEN 4 in efficiency and power consumption.
- Two variants are in development: Exynos 2500-A (8-core for phones) and 2500-B (10-core for tablets and laptops).
- Samsung plans to incorporate Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for improved AI capabilities.
- The chipset will feature an Xclipse 950 GPU, an upgrade from the previous 940.
- More details are expected as the January 2025 launch of the Galaxy S25 approaches.
The writing has been on the wall for while now: no one likes or wants Samsung’s Exynos chipsets inside their Samsung phones. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform has proven, time and time again, to be the superior chipset.
But when your a few hundred billion deep in invested capital, the will to “make something work” is very motivating and this is why, despite myriad setbacks and complaints, there is STILL talk of the Exynos platform running inside Samsung’s Galaxy S25 phones.
Will The Galaxy S25 Use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Exclusively, Or Will It Be Split Between Snapdragon And Exynos?
Reports earlier this year suggested that Samsung was “all in” on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 GEN 4 for its Galaxy S25 series, causing a collective sigh of relief from Samsung’s fanbase. But as is always the case with works in progress, things change.
According to reports from inside Korea, Samsung is working like mad to get its newest Exynos chipset ready in time for the launch of the Galaxy S25. The only problem? Its yield rate is appalling – around 20%, apparently, when ideally it needs to be up and around 60%.
Samsung is pulling out all the stops in order to improve the yield of its upcoming Exynos 2500 SoC. The news outlet reports that up until this point, Samsung was in quite a pinch, as the chip was in the single digits when it comes to yield numbers.
As you can imagine, that’s quite a dreadful number, but luckily, depending on how you look at it, Samsung has made some improvements recently, increasing that number to just under 20%.
Android Police
Exynos Performance Anxiety Is A Real Thing
Samsung’s insistence on splitting its Galaxy S range in two, with certain variants (usually US-based), running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, and other regions (the rest of the world, usually), running Exynos chips has been a source of irritation for plenty of users.
The logic of using its own chips, at least from a financial perspective, does make sense. If Samsung can demonstrate that its Exynos platform is a solid Qualcomm alternative, it can generate more business for its chip-making arm.
But the reality is always different. For every stride Samsung makes with its Exynos platform, Qualcomm – and Apple, at this stage too – appears to be two or three steps ahead.
From The Exynos 2400 To The Exynos 2500 In 2025
The Exynos 2400 did a better job inside the Galaxy S24 series, losing out by less than 5% to 6% to Qualcomm’s chip in most benchmark platforms. Interestingly, S24 models running Exynos also did better in battery life tests too – and that’s something we can all get behind.
But for things like gaming – specifically, when it comes to ray tracing – the Snapdragon is still very much the Mac Daddy when it comes to performance. Could Samsung close this gap further with 2025’s Exynos 2500 SoC?
Perhaps. But it’ll need to sort the yields first, and that’s no mean feat…
With the Exynos 2500, there is a lot of hype around its capabilities with leakers’ claiming it will outperform Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 GEN 4 chip.
According to @PandaFlashPro on X/Twitter, with Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm fabrication process, the Exynos 2500 will be more efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Not only that but it will deliver more performance and use less power than the 2400.
Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) Coming To Exynos 2500
Samsung is reportedly working on two versions of its upcoming Exynos chipset: the Exynos 2500-A and 2500-B. Sources suggest the A-variant will feature an 8-core CPU, destined for Galaxy smartphones, while the B-variant boasts a 10-core CPU, aimed at Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Book devices.
In a significant shift, Samsung is said to be incorporating Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) into the Exynos 2500, replacing the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) used in the Exynos 2400. This move could potentially enhance AI capabilities and performance.
Graphics-wise, the Exynos 2500 is expected to utilize the Xclipse 950 GPU, promising improved graphical performance over its predecessor, the Xclipse 940 found in the Exynos 2400.
As we approach the anticipated January 2025 launch of the Galaxy S25 series, more details about this next-generation chipset are likely to emerge. Stay tuned for updates on Samsung’s latest technological advancements in mobile processing.
