Every year before Samsung debuts its latest phones, foldable or otherwise, rumors swirl that the Korean tech giant is going to attempt to launch the handsets with its own Exynos chips.
As we get closer to the release of Samsung's foldable Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, those same rumors have been circulating. And now we have the backlash rumor with Hankyung, a Korean publication (via Jukanlosreve), reporting that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, with a caveat.
According to the article, the Qualcomm version of the Flip 7 will only be available for North American models. Elsewhere, the clamshell phone will feature the Exynos 2500 SoC.
Previous rumors have claimed that the Z Flip 7 would feature either an Exynos 2500 chip or a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, contradictorily.
Exynos or bust
In recent years, Samsung has struggled with the yield (how many chips it can produce) when it comes to producing its own Exynos processors. It's obvious the company wants to return to its own chips, especially as Qualcomm's silicon gets more expensive.
However, every cycle has the same rumors. There was speculation that the Galaxy S25 would run on the Exynos 2500, and recently, there are rumors that the Galaxy S26 series could run on Exynos 2600 chips in some regions.
As for the bigger book-style Z Fold 7, that phone is reportedly going to feature the Snapdragon Elite 8 globally.
We'll know more for sure come July, when we expect Samsung to hold its annual summer Galaxy Unpacked, where the two foldable phones will debut alongside wearable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.
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