The Samsung Galaxy S25 is tipped to drop Qualcomm chips and go all-in on Exynos

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra from the back with S Pen mostly withdrawn
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 series could see Samsung abandoning Snapdragon chips and opting for its own Exynos processors for all models globally. 

According to somewhat-reliable tipster Connor on X the next-generation Galaxy phones could see Samsung once again drop having a range of phones with two different chips. The last time Samsung did this it was with the Samsung Galaxy S23 phones, which all used Qualcomm's Snapdragon silicon. However, 2025's rumored Galaxy phone could flip that and see Samsung go all-in on its own in-house designed Exynos chips. 

While there's precedent for such a move, do take this with a dose of skepticism as Connor noted the tip is “just a rumor I heard.. not my source” without any further explanation. 

In the current Galaxy S24 models, the standard and Plus variants use Exynos chips outside of the US and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips within America. Other nations where Samsung operates tend to use Exynos chips in the latest Galaxy phones, with the exception of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which gets the Snapdragon part.

The standard thinking has been, and still is, that Qualcomm chips deliver better performance and power efficiency than their Exynos counterparts, which have reportedly suffered from overheating and battery drain problems in the past. 

But the Exynos 2400 chipset used in the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus performed better than many expected, offering significant improvements compared to the previous Exynos 2200, as well as chasing the power of the Snapdragon chip; in practical terms, we reckon you'd have to really go looking to see much practical performance difference between the two chips.  

However, if there's some weight behind the all-Exynos rumor for the Galaxy S25 – and for the record, we think that may be ambitious – it would be an indication that Samsung believes its in-house chip can beat the silicon that powers many of the best Android phones you can buy today. 

Alternatively, Samsung could go down the Exynos route by baking in hardware-specific features that only its chips can run. But we've heard no rumors or hints to back that up. 

And it's early days for Galaxy S25 rumors, so we'll just have to wait and see what platys out. But don't let that stop you from taking a punt on one of our best phones right now as you're not likely to be left disappointed. 

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Staff Writer, Mobile Computing

James Ide was a writer for TechRadar specializing in phones and tablets, having previously worked at The Daily Mirror since 2016, covering news and reviews.  

James loves messing with the latest tech, especially phones due to their incredibly rapid pace of development.

When not surrounded by various devices and/or tinkering with gadgets while putting them through their paces, James has a love of handheld consoles.

He is almost the textbook definition of a geek, who loves sci-fi, comics, games and of course, all things tech. If you think you have a story for him or just want to challenge him at Smash Bros, get in touch. 

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