There has been a lot of talk about the chip that will power the Galaxy S25 lineup. According to recent reports, Samsung tried until the last minute to use Exynos chips in its upcoming flagships. However, a new leak reiterates that the whole Galaxy S25 series will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip worldwide.
Samsung’s initial plans were to implement the Exynos 2500 chip in the Galaxy S25. The company firmly believed that its new flagship SoC could successfully compete with Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile hardware. However, the critical situation on Samsung Foundry’s 3nm GAA wafers threatened that possibility. Now, according to reliable tipster Ice Universe, the chances of seeing the Exynos chip in the Galaxy S25 lineup have definitely died. The same source had already said this before, so this is a reiteration of the news.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip will be in all Galaxy S25 models, tipster insists
Industry sources revealed that Samsung Foundry’s 3nm wafer yield rates were between 10% and 30%. This made mass production of the Exynos 2500 chip unviable. After all, such devices typically sell tens of millions of units globally each year. While Samsung worked on improving the yield rate of its factories, the company was considering turning to an external supplier for high-end chips. Samsung must have all possibilities covered, including the worst ones.
Reports revealed that Samsung even considered implementing the Dimensity 9400 chip in the vanilla and Plus Galaxy S25 models. For reference, the company typically uses a dual-chip strategy in non-Ultra Galaxy S models. On the other hand, the Galaxy S Ultra relies on Qualcomm’s latest high-end SoC globally. That said, the price of the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite may significantly impact the production price of the device.
A research firm recently revealed the manufacturing cost of the Pixel 9 Pro. According to the source, the Tensor G4 chip costs Google around $80. However, leaks suggest that the Snapdragon 8 Elite retails for approximately $200. While the Exynos 2400 may cost a bit more to produce than the Tensor G4, the difference between using an in-house chip and a third-party chip is still noticeable. We are probably talking about twice the cost, approximately.
Even the Galaxy S26 series could rely on Qualcomm hardware
Now that the most reliable sources confirm that the entire Galaxy S25 series will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, it remains to be seen what strategy Samsung takes. The South Korean giant could maintain prices, absorbing the extra cost and reducing its profit margins. The other option might be to pass on the extra cost to the user by increasing the price of the devices. Some sources claim that even the entire Galaxy S26 series will rely on Snapdragon chips worldwide as well.
