Samsung has been trying to catch up with the competition with its own Exynos chipsets for years, but with mixed results.
The Galaxy S22 series Exynos 2200 was not received warmly, mainly because it made the device heat up. This is probably why Samsung decided to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Galaxy S23 series and ignore the Exynos 2300.
However, the next attempt came with the Exynos 2400 from the Galaxy S24 series. Although it performs slightly worse than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the margin is smaller than one might expect and in many cases they are comparable.
This makes the upcoming Exynos 2500 a real contender for flagship smartphones, especially considering some of the announced improvements.
When will the Exynos 2500 be launched?
The Exynos 2400 powers Samsung’s current flagships, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ in select markets, including the UK. This is where it made its first appearance, and no other devices have been revealed until now.
Therefore, the Exynos 2500 is expected to debut alongside the Galaxy S25 series in January or February 2025.
What phones will the Exynos 2500 use?
Exynos chipsets are Samsung’s own processors and remain exclusive to Galaxy phones.
The Exynos 2500 will likely be found primarily in the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ in some markets. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 globally, so the S25 Ultra is more likely to boast the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 instead.
On the other hand, a recent rumor from leaker OreXda on X (formerly Twitter) suggests that Samsung is considering equipping the entire Galaxy S25 range with its Exynos chipsets. However, we advise taking this information with a grain of salt, especially as it lacks confirmation from other sources.
What will be the specifications and features of the Exynos 2500?
There haven’t been many rumors about the Exynos 2500 yet. However, we do have some interesting information.
New ARM processor cores
According to other leaks from OreXda, the upcoming Exynos 2500 is expected to retain a 10-core configuration of the Exynos 2400, but will feature the new ARM CPU cores and be produced on Samsung’s advanced 3nm process.
It is expected to include a powerful 3.3GHz to 3.2GHz Cortex-X5 core along with multiple Cortex-A730 and Cortex-A520 cores for efficiency.
Rumors also suggest that the Cortex-X5 core could outperform Apple’s latest custom CPU core.
AMD Xclipse 950 GPU
The Exynos 2500’s GPU could feature AMD’s RDNA-based Xclipse 950, which would offer improved graphics performance over the Xclipse 940 found in the Exynos 2400.
With these improvements, it could potentially rival or even surpass the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, marking a significant leap for Samsung’s Exynos lineup.
Google’s TPU
Another claim from OreXda is that the Exynos 2500 is expected to integrate Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), marking a continued focus on AI capabilities.
This corresponds to the Pixel 8 series, which uses Google Tensor G3 (4nm) for on-device AI and faster Google Mobile Services (GMS) functions.
This collaboration will allow devices like the Galaxy S25 series to access Google’s machine learning APIs, allowing models to be processed on-device. Additionally, the chipset can feature two neural processing units (NPUs), including a general-purpose version (G-NPU) as well as a specialized unit (S-NPU).
If true, the Exynos 2500, based on Samsung’s 3nm node and featuring a Cortex-X5 core, A730 cores and an Xclipse 950 GPU, would significantly improve performance and efficiency, potentially challenging Google in AI.
However, the arrival of the Google Tensor G4 as well as the Pixel 9 series could keep the Mountain View-based company at the top.
That’s all we know about the Exynos 2500 at this point. Even if expectations are high, the Exynos 2400 present in the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ remains an excellent choice.
If you don’t want to wait for the Galaxy S25 series, with which the Exynos 2500 is expected to debut, check out the best Samsung Galaxy phones you can buy right now.
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