The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is available with in-house Exynos or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. However, there seems to be uncertainty over whether the Galaxy S25 series will use Exynos silicon. Now, a new report suggests that Samsung is making a concerted effort to make an Exynos-powered Galaxy S25 a reality.

ZDNet Korea reports that Samsung is making “all-out efforts” to improve the yield of the upcoming Samsung Exynos 2500 processor. The outlet reports that Samsung’s LSI division is focused on improving the yield of the new chip by the second half of the year.

The Exynos 2500 is built on Samsung’s 3nm manufacturing process, but the yield rate reportedly remained in single-digit percentages until the first quarter of the year. A project to supply engineering samples of the new chips was also apparently postponed at the time.

Will an Exynos Galaxy S25 actually happen?

ZDNet Korea further claimed that Samsung has since improved the yield rate to just under 20% by Q2 2024. The website adds that this yield rate isn’t enough and that yield rates typically need to reach 60% or higher for mass production. For what it’s worth, leaker Revegnus claimed back in February that the 4nm Exynos 2400 had a ~60% yield rate.

Samsung apparently still has time to improve yield rates as mass production of the Exynos 2500 is said to be scheduled for the end of the year. So it seems like Exynos-powered Galaxy S25 units aren’t out of the question just yet, but it’s looking like a tall order.

The news comes after analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed that the Galaxy S25 would likely be exclusively powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset, citing the Exynos 2500’s poor yield rates.

Earlier this month, Samsung and Synopsys published a joint press release to announce it successfully mass produced its prototype 3nm process design. The press release didn’t specifically say, but it was believed the 3nm process would be used for the Exynos 2500. A new report claims this will be the case for the SoC expected to appear in the Galaxy S25.

A report from Business Korea claims Samsung plans to mass produce the Exynos 2500 using the 3nm process and that the processor will appear in the Galaxy S25 series. The outlet adds that the Exynos 2500 may end up surpassing Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, which is also expected to use a 3nm process.

Samsung offered the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus in two flavors this time, namely a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variant and an Exynos 2400 model. Our own testing found that the Snapdragon models had better performance but worse battery life than the Exynos variants.

Now, Twitter tipster Revegnus has claimed that Samsung is optimistic about the Exynos 2500’s performance against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. The leaker specifically reports that Samsung reckons the Exynos 2500 doesn’t lag behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in terms of “quality.”

Samsung offered the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus in two flavors this time, namely a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variant and an Exynos 2400 model. Our own testing found that the Snapdragon models had better performance but worse battery life than the Exynos variants.

Now, Twitter tipster Revegnus has claimed that Samsung is optimistic about the Exynos 2500’s performance against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. The leaker specifically reports that Samsung reckons the Exynos 2500 doesn’t lag behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in terms of “quality.”

Samsung initially began production of its 3nm process chips back in 2022, beating out rival TSMC to the milestone. Now almost two years later, the Android smartphone manufacturer is almost ready to go into mass production.

Announced through a joint press release with partner Synopsys, the two companies revealed they are preparing to enter the mass production phase for Samsung’s 3nm chip. Currently, the two companies are in the final design stage, which is known as “taping out.” In this process, the design is sent to the foundry so that they can create masks used for mass production. It is expected that mass production could start in the next few months.

If you’re not familiar with Synopsys, it is an electronics design automation firm. Samsung has partnered with the company so Synopsys can assist with maximizing yield and improving the chip’s performance.

Although Samsung had already been manufacturing 3nm chips before this, these new chips will be the firm’s first complex and high-performance 3nm chips. These new chips use Samsung Foundry’s 3nm Gate All Around (GAA) process.

The press release doesn’t specifically say where these high-performance 3nm chips will first appear. But there’s a possibility the first 3nm chip will come in the form of the Exynos 2500 SoC for the Galaxy S25 series.

Samsung offered the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus in two flavors this time, namely a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variant and an Exynos 2400 model. Our own testing found that the Snapdragon models had better performance but worse battery life than the Exynos variants.

Now, Twitter tipster Revegnus has claimed that Samsung is optimistic about the Exynos 2500’s performance against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. The leaker specifically reports that Samsung reckons the Exynos 2500 doesn’t lag behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in terms of “quality.”

Samsung initially began production of its 3nm process chips back in 2022, beating out rival TSMC to the milestone. Now almost two years later, the Android smartphone manufacturer is almost ready to go into mass production.

Announced through a joint press release with partner Synopsys, the two companies revealed they are preparing to enter the mass production phase for Samsung’s 3nm chip. Currently, the two companies are in the final design stage, which is known as “taping out.” In this process, the design is sent to the foundry so that they can create masks used for mass production. It is expected that mass production could start in the next few months.

If you’re not familiar with Synopsys, it is an electronics design automation firm. Samsung has partnered with the company so Synopsys can assist with maximizing yield and improving the chip’s performance.

Although Samsung had already been manufacturing 3nm chips before this, these new chips will be the firm’s first complex and high-performance 3nm chips. These new chips use Samsung Foundry’s 3nm Gate All Around (GAA) process.

The press release doesn’t specifically say where these high-performance 3nm chips will first appear. But there’s a possibility the first 3nm chip will come in the form of the Exynos 2500 SoC for the Galaxy S25 series.

Qualcomm’s modems are the preferred choice in all the top smartphones sold in the US, but other companies also make competitive modems. Samsung has just announced the new Exynos 5400 5G modem, its first modem with two-way satellite connectivity. This is also the same modem used on the Exynos Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus and the same that we expect on the Google Pixel 9 series.

The Exynos 5400 supports 3GPP Release 17, at par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 modem. Samsung is promising maximum data throughput speeds of up to 14.79Gbps. Further, the Exynos 5400 can aggregate three carriers of 100MHz and two of 40MHz into a single complete frequency of 380MHz bandwidth within the FR1 frequency band, achieving speeds of 11.2Gbps with 1,024 QAM.

The Exynos 5400 5G modem is built on a 4nm EUV process. It supports 4×4 MIMO for sub-6GHz and 2×2 MIMO for mmWave.

The Exynos 5400 is the first Samsung modem that supports both NB-IoT NTN and NR NTN for connectivity in remote areas. NB-IoT NTN allows you to send and receive messages by connecting to high-earth satellites, while NR NTN allows 5G devices to connect to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for better transmission of a large amount of data.

A Samsung Semiconductor spokesperson confirmed to us that the Exynos 5400 IP was used in the Exynos Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, which sport the Exynos 2400 processor. However, Samsung Electronics has not mentioned two-way satellite connectivity as a feature on the Galaxy S24 series in any form. Unlike the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series, you cannot send emergency messages without cellular connectivity (through satellite connectivity) on the S24 series in any form, at least not yet.

Qualcomm’s modems are the preferred choice in all the top smartphones sold in the US, but other companies also make competitive modems. Samsung has just announced the new Exynos 5400 5G modem, its first modem with two-way satellite connectivity. This is also the same modem used on the Exynos Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus and the same that we expect on the Google Pixel 9 series.

The Exynos 5400 supports 3GPP Release 17, at par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 modem. Samsung is promising maximum data throughput speeds of up to 14.79Gbps. Further, the Exynos 5400 can aggregate three carriers of 100MHz and two of 40MHz into a single complete frequency of 380MHz bandwidth within the FR1 frequency band, achieving speeds of 11.2Gbps with 1,024 QAM.

The Exynos 5400 5G modem is built on a 4nm EUV process. It supports 4×4 MIMO for sub-6GHz and 2×2 MIMO for mmWave.

The Exynos 5400 is the first Samsung modem that supports both NB-IoT NTN and NR NTN for connectivity in remote areas. NB-IoT NTN allows you to send and receive messages by connecting to high-earth satellites, while NR NTN allows 5G devices to connect to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for better transmission of a large amount of data.

A Samsung Semiconductor spokesperson confirmed to us that the Exynos 5400 IP was used in the Exynos Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, which sport the Exynos 2400 processor. However, Samsung Electronics has not mentioned two-way satellite connectivity as a feature on the Galaxy S24 series in any form. Unlike the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series, you cannot send emergency messages without cellular connectivity (through satellite connectivity) on the S24 series in any form, at least not yet.

Over the last couple of years, Samsung has lowered the usage of Exynos chipsets in its phones and tablets. Take the Galaxy S23 series for example. The company used only the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for the lineup. The brand is also not using Exynos SoCs in mid-range and low-end devices as much as it used to a few years ago.

While it is clear that the usage of Exynos chipsets is going down, we didn’t have any figures on the trend. Fortunately, that’s changing today. Canalys has just posted a report analyzing the global smartphone market by processor vendor, and it reveals some disappointing news about Exynos chipsets and Samsung Semiconductor.

According to the report, the shipment of smartphones with chipsets from Samsung Semiconductors was 13 million in Q4 2023, which is 48% less compared to that in Q4 2022. As a result, the company’s revenue from smartphone chipsets stood at USD 5 billion in the last quarter, which is 44% lower than what it was in Q4 2022.

Unlike the Galaxy S23 series, Samsung has used Exynos chipset for the Galaxy S24 lineup. So, the shipment of smartphones with Exynos chipsets should go up in this and the upcoming quarters, and with that the revenue of Samsung Semiconductors should also see a steep increase. It would be interesting to see future figures.

The report from Canalys also reveals that MediaTek processors powered the highest number of smartphones (117 million) in Q4 2023. Apple was the second-largest chipset provider with its SoCs powering 78 million smartphones and Qualcomm was the third-largest chipset supplier with its processors powering 69 million smartphones.

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When a new device hits the market, the initial focus often gravitates towards peak performance. Take, for instance, the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24 range. Numerous videos, including mine, have discussed its peak performance, examining Geekbench and 3DMark scores. While these metrics are undoubtedly intriguing, considering sustained performance is equally important. How does the device fare after an extended period of use? In this article, I’ll be delving into the sustained performance of various flagship processors, including those from Samsung, Qualcomm, Apple, and more.

Why is sustained performance important?

There are several ways to evaluate the performance of a system-on-chip (SoC). Peak CPU and GPU performance provide insight into what a mobile SoC can achieve under optimal conditions. However, these conditions are fleeting. Therefore, examining sustained performance is beneficial, revealing what happens when the test is run multiple times. How do the thermals behave? Does the processor slow down? Is the peak performance somewhat deceptive, as it can only be maintained briefly? This approach provides a more accurate reflection of performance during prolonged use, especially during gaming sessions.