The recent announcement of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC has sent the rumor mill into overdrive with speculations about its availability in upcoming devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy S25.
The latest news suggests that the upcoming device series could be powered solely by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Additionally, there are claims that Samsung may not have silicon in its devices by any other brand, such as the Exynos 2500 or MediaTek Dimensity 9400, popular leakster, Ice Universe detailed on X (formerly Twitter).
After Samsung MX lead, TM Roh took the stage at the Snapdragon Summit in mid-October, many are certain it could be a clue of a more in-depth collaboration between the companies for the Galaxy S25 series. However, there is no confirmation about the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S25 at this time.
Throughout the years, most of the devices in the Galaxy S series have been released with a variation of Snapdragon chips in North America and Exynos chips in Europe, Africa, Asia and other international markets. This at the time was largely due to differences in carrier support. Galaxy devices in North America were configured with Qualcomm chips, which allowed them to support older CDMA networks. However, many North American carriers have since modernized their infrastructure and retired CDMA networks. Meanwhile, international Galaxy devices were configured with Exynos chips, which allowed them to support GSM networks. These globalized networks allow for SIM card switching or multiple SIMs on a single device.
There are some Samsung models that have a single brand of SoC power their entire fleet of devices. The 2023 Galaxy S23 series released running only the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip globally. Similarly, the 2015 Galaxy S6 released running only the Exynos 7 chip, with its Qualcomm equivalent having been the Snapdragon 810.
Moving forward, the Qualcomm chip could instead provide standout features, such as AI processing– though competitor chips from Samsung and MediaTek would have comparable functions.
Both the Exynos 2500 and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chips are also confirmed by their companies; however, Samsung could have alternate plans for the components amid the excitement surrounding the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
A follow-up rumor by X leakster, Jukanlosreve suggests that Samsung may use the Dimensity 9400 chip for its mid-range device, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. Though Samsung mentioned the Exynos 2500 chip during its second-quarter earnings call in late July, murmurs hint the manufacturer may not proceed with production of the chip for use in the Galaxy S25 series due to issues with quality testing. The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is expected to be announced in the early months of 2025.
