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Samsung Galaxy S25's chip could be more powerful than the iPhone's — here’s what we know

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra playing racing game
(Image credit: Future)

The Galaxy S24 hasn't arrived yet, but in some corners, attention is already turning to the Galaxy S25 — and specifically toward the system-on-chip likely to power it.

That would be the unreleased Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, which we likely won't see until later this year. Nevertheless, a Weibo post from leaker DCS has some information to share about the future chipset, which sounds like quite an upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that's powering phones like the OnePlus 12 and most likely the Galaxy S24 Ultra when that phone debuts in 2024.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 reportedly has an octa-core CPU featuring two high-performance Phoenix L CPU cores and six power-efficient Phoenix M cores. This is quite a different set-up from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which uses one prime core, five performance cores and two efficiency cores. Presumably, this new octet of cores makes for better and more efficient performance, as DCS suggests.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 likely won't be the only improvement Samsung has planned for its 2025 flagship phone. There have been some indications that Samsung is aiming to decrease the size of the internal bezel on their future phones, the Galaxy S25 included.

It is also likely that Samsung's Galaxy AI will undergo further development after its rumored debut on the Galaxy S24 series, benefitting from the apparently much more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

It is important to note that these are only rumors at the moment, and there's more than a year between now and the likely launch of the Galaxy S25 series. We'll keep a lookout for more rumors to see if this rumor changes or develops, and of course check out what the Galaxy S24 series' assumed Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered performance is capable of when it arrives.

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Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.