Samsung's Galaxy S24 could come with an unwanted downgrade in Europe

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Galaxy S22 series came with an Exynos model in Europe. (Image credit: Future)

Samsung might be moving back towards its homegrown Exynos processors for the Galaxy S24 series, a new report says. The company had switched to using Qualcomm's excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips for the entire line, after offering two versions for the previous generation Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S22.

The report comes from Pocket-Lint, citing sources close to the matter. According to Pocket Lint, Samsung will bring Exynos processors back to the S23-series with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Fan Edition (FE), corroborating an earlier report. Samsung is now rumored to be continuing the return of Exynos with the Galaxy S24 in 2024. Samsung had previously highlighted its partnership with Qualcomm with a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.

As we noted above, Samsung previously offered the Exynos Galaxy S-Series in Europe, with the Qualcomm versions being sold in the US. The company came under fire for weaker performance from its Exynos chips, with an executive apologizing publicly over performance issues with the S22 line.

Will cooler chips prevail?

Samsung's Galaxy S23 series were one of the best Android phones, and our reviewer Philip Berne notes the S23 Ultra is one of his favorite phones to use over the iPhone 14 Pro or even the Pixel Fold. Though it would be logical for Samsung to use Exynos processors, much like Apple does for its iPhones with its A-Series chips, but Exynos has been constantly inferior as an option, even compared to same-generation Snapdragon phones.

The Exynos effect extends a little more than Samsung, as Google's Samsung-produced Tensor chips, which share some familial bonds, have led to some Pixel phones being plagued with connectivity and battery issues. With the excellent battery and performance of the S23-series, it would be unfortunate if Samsung's next outing marked a regression.

Michael Allison
Staff Writer, Phones

A UK-based tech journalist for TechRadar, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a primary focus on mobile phones, tablets, and wearables.

When not writing on TechRadar, I can often be found reading fiction, writing for fun, or working out.

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