Samsung Galaxy S25 tipped to ditch Exynos for Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 worldwide
The Exynos 2500 may be getting left by the wayside
Not all Samsung flagships are made equal, and the kind of phone you get depends on where you bought it. Often North American Galaxy S models come powered by the latest Snapdragon chipset, while overseas phones use Samsung’s own Exynos chips. But this may not be the case with the Galaxy S25.
According to a forum post on Blind (via Hankyung), the Galaxy S25 won't feature different chipsets in different regions. And the good news is that Samsung is apparently opting for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and leaving the upcoming Exynos 2500 by the wayside. Which we can all agree is a good thing.
Samsung’s Exynos chips have come a long way in recent years, but they generally don’t perform quite as well as the latest Snapdragon chips. Our testing on the Galaxy S24 found that the Exynos chip consistently scored worse in benchmarking and graphics testing. The difference varied from test to test, but the fact was the Exynos chipset was beaten in every single test we ran.
But it’s not just about the performance. Snapdragon chips have made huge leaps in energy efficiency over the past few years as well. So not only will the phones last longer on a single charge, anytime you’re actually utilizing the chip’s higher performance means you’re not wasting as much power — and pumping your phone full of excess heat in the process.
Previous rumors have suggested Samsung is struggling with the production of 3nm chips, and may not have enough chips to power the international Galaxy S25 range. Qualcomm has more experience with producing massive quantities of 3nm chips, and means it could step in more easily.
However just because the Galaxy S25 series is ditching the Exynos 2500 doesn’t mean the chip is dead in the water. One rumor on X claims that there’s still a chance the chip could make an appearance on the Galaxy Z 7 series. But since those phones have consistently utilized Qualcomm chips across the world, I have my doubts about that. Which means the 2500 may be limited to mid-range handsets like the Samsung Galaxy A56.
We’ve still got a bit of time before the Galaxy S25 launch event, which will likely take place next January. So expect to hear more hardware rumors over the coming months. In the meantime be sure to check out our Samsung Galaxy S25 hub for all the latest news and rumors about the phone.
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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.