The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 is most likely still more than 6 months away, and yet we’ve already heard plenty of leaks about what to expect – and the latest to catch our attention concerns the chipset the smartphone series will use.
According to ZDNet Korea (via Android Authority), Samsung is hard at work trying to get its own Exynos 2500 chip ready in time to be fitted inside a substantial number of Galaxy S25 smartphones in certain parts of the world.
The chipset will boost both performance and efficiency (helping battery life) compared with the Exynos 2400 deployed in the Samsung Galaxy S24 in some regions, but Samsung is apparently struggling to manufacture it at a large enough scale at the moment.
There’s still time for the situation to improve, but Samsung could be left having to use the as-yet-unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor in all of its Samsung Galaxy 25 phones – something that was actually rumored back in March.
Recent history
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus are fitted with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor from Qualcomm in the US, Canada, and China, and the Exynos 2400 processor from Samsung itself in other parts of the world.
As for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, that phone uses the Snapdragon chipset wherever it’s sold in the world. It was all Snapdragon with the 2023 phones too: across the Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
While the Snapdragon chips are generally considered to be more powerful, the difference in day-to-day performance usually isn’t huge – and by using its own Exynos chips too, Samsung can save money and keep greater control over its hardware design.
If Samsung sticks to the same schedule it did this year, then the Galaxy S25 phones will be out in January 2025 – and we’ll then find out whether or not Samsung has been able to include some Exynos models alongside the phones powered by Qualcomm silicon.