According to industry sources on May 14, Samsung Electronics is projected to equip its upcoming Galaxy S25 series, which will be released next year, with the next-generation mobile AI, the Exynos 2500. Exynos is a mobile Application Processor (AP) created in-house by Samsung.
Samsung Electronics had already installed the Exynos 2200 in its Galaxy S22 series in 2022. However, overheating and performance deterioration difficulties prompted the premium S series handsets to use Qualcomm's APs instead. This year, the Galaxy S24 series reintroduced Exynos with the Exynos 2400 in the basic and models, while the Ultra variant used Qualcomm's third-generation Snapdragon 8 CPU.
The success of the Galaxy S24 series, which highlighted AI capabilities, has revived confidence in Exynos CPUs. Although Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 series continues to lead in performance relative to power consumption, Exynos is competitive, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness when compared to Qualcomm's offerings.
Recently, Samsung Electronics cooperated with Synopsys, a global Electronic Design Automation (EDA) business, to successfully mass-produce system-on-chips (SoCs) prototypes, including mobile apps, using a 3-nm technology. Samsung was the first company to mass-produce the 3-nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process on a worldwide scale, and it was also the first to deploy it to mobile AP semiconductor chips. The business intends to mass-produce the Exynos 2500 utilizing this technology in preparation for the Galaxy S25 series introduction early next year.
According to industry observers, the Exynos 2500 may outperform Qualcomm's fourth-generation Snapdragon 8 in terms of power efficiency. Panda Flash, a well-known international IT tipster, and others predict that the Exynos 2500 will outperform Qualcomm's current offerings in terms of power efficiency.
This research is based on Samsung's technological superiority, specifically its GAA technology. While Samsung's foundry manufactures Exynos, Taiwan's TSMC produces Snapdragon. The Exynos 2500's second-generation 3-nm manufacturing node uses GAA transistors to reduce energy leakage while increasing drive current. In contrast, TSMC will produce the fourth-generation Snapdragon 8 using the second generation of the 3-nm process using FinFET transistors rather than GAA.
With Exynos' wider use, Samsung Electronics is ready to make a comeback in the mobile AP market. According to Counterpoint Research, in the fourth quarter of last year, MediaTek (33%) and Qualcomm (23%) held the first and second positions in the worldwide mobile AP market share, respectively, followed by Apple (20%). Samsung Electronics ranked fifth, with a 5% share.