Samsung's eventual goal is to use Exynos chips on all Galaxy devices
A Samsung Mobile eXperience executive says that Samsung's goal is to power all Galaxy phones with its Exynos chips.
Samsung wants all Galaxy phones to use only Exynos chips. | Image by PhoneArena
Samsung's longtime dual-sourcing of the application processor (AP) used to power its flagship Galaxy S line could be coming to an end. The manufacturer has been improving its Exynos chips and even added a "Heat Path Block" to the Exynos 2600, which helped reduce the amount of heat generated by the chip, something that has been a huge issue with past Exynos chips.
Samsung returned to dual-sourcing in 2026
With occasional exceptions, each year Samsung would pretty much follow the dual-sourcing it employed for the Galaxy S26 series this year. The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ are being powered by the 2nm decacore Exynos 2600 processor in Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other EU nations), South Korea, and India. In those markets, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ have become the first smartphones to be equipped with a 2nm chipset.
In North America (U.S. and Canada) and East Asia (China and Japan), the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ are driven by the 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This AP also powers the Galaxy S26 Ultra in all markets. During a press event held a few days ago in San Jose, California, Moon Sung-hoon said that Samsung is working on a plan for the broader use of its Exynos application processors in all future Galaxy models.
The Exynos 2600 AP reportedly powers 25% of Galaxy handsets. | Image by Samsung
Moon, the Vice President of Hardware at Samsung's MX (Mobile eXperience) unit, the business segment that includes smartphones, tablets, wearables, and software like One UI, said that developing such a plan must take a mid to long term approach. What makes this such a complex endeavor is that it requires looking at future specs while trying to determine how powerful future chips will be.
Samsung wants every Galaxy phone to be powered by an Exynos AP
The big news that Moon revealed is that Samsung's MX unit has been working with its LSI division which designs the logic and analog semiconductors that allow a smartphone to think, connect, and see. The goal is to power every future Galaxy phone with a Samsung designed and made Exynos AP. Moon said, "We hope to equip all Galaxy lineups with our own application processor, the Exynos chip."
"We will work closely with various partners to adopt the optimal chip to improve the user experience for customers. This year, Exynos received passing marks in many ways. As the world’s first 2nm AP, it has significantly improved power consumption and other aspects. It will provide significant benefits to customers."
-Moon Sung-hoon, Vice President of Hardware at Samsung MX
The Exynos AP has come a long way in a short period of time, and Samsung Foundry has reportedly improved its yield. Last year, Samsung Foundry was rumored to have a low 20% yield for its production of 3nm GAA AP chips. This would prevent Samsung Foundry from producing the number of chips it needed for last year’s Galaxy S25 series. As a result, the phones that made up last year's flagship line were all powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite AP.
There is optimism about the Exynos 2700
Because Samsung could not use its cheaper in-house Exynos 2500 AP as planned in some markets and models, the company supposedly had to pay Qualcomm $400 million to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite AP. But this year, the news has been very good for Samsung. Yields rose and the Exynos 2600 performed well enough on benchmark tests to challenge the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
For the first time in years, there is some optimism going into next year about the Exynos 2700. In addition, last December there was talk about Samsung creating a "Custom SoC Development Team" that would copy Apple by creating custom chips to replace third-party semiconductors used on Galaxy handsets. For example, Apple now designs its own C-series modems for some iPhone and iPad models. This allows Apple to squeeze more battery life out of the devices that use its C1 and C1X modems.
Samsung is hoping that with the turnaround in Samsung Foundry's yield, it can design and build custom silicon for Galaxy handsets. Besides saving money, being in on the development of these components from the ground up will allow Samsung to design proprietary features right into these chips.
Meanwhile, Samsung is hoping that next year the Exynos 2700 AP will power 50% of Galaxy S27 models. That would double the Exynos 2600's rumored 25% share of the Galaxy S26 series. For this to happen, the Galaxy S27 Ultra would have to be powered by the Exynos 2700 AP in some markets.
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