No more Exynos on the budget Galaxy A1x series. Samsung moves to Qualcomm and MediaTek. | Image by DigitalBG
Samsung is making substantial changes to its affordable lineup. According to a new report, the company will ditch the in-house developed Exynos chipset completely from the new affordable entry, the Galaxy A18.
Samsung will move to MediaTek and Qualcomm silicon in what's believed to be a bid to combat the global increase in component cost.
Galaxy A18 5G will get a Snapdragon chip, the 4G version gets MediaTek silicon
Goodbye Exynos. Samsung is swapping the chip inside its budget models with Qualcomm and MediaTek silicon. | Image by Samsung
According to the information, which comes from the Korean media outlet ZDNet Korea, there will be two hardware variants of the phone. The 4G version will use a MediaTek chipset, while the Galaxy A18 5G will come equipped with a Qualcomm SoC.
The previous generation also split the 4G and 5G versions, but the Galaxy A17 5G used Samsung's 5-nanometer Exynos 1330 chipset. Now the 5G duties will be handed to Snapdragon, although the exact chip inside remains a mystery at the moment.
What chipset brand should power Galaxy A-series phones?
North America will probably get the Snapdragon-equipped Galaxy A18 5G
Another model joins the Snapdragon family, this time it's the budget Galaxy A18 5G. | Image by Qualcomm
Samsung has used the same split strategy for quite some time. Galaxy phones, including flagships, come equipped with Qualcomm chips in North America, China, and Japan, while the rest of the world gets Exynos.
In the case of the budget A-series, the Snapdragon option was absent until now, and extrapolating from Samsung's past strategy, we can assume the US will be getting a Snapdragon version of the Galaxy A18.
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Which is not bad, given the fact the Galaxy A17 5G comes with the Exynos 1330 on board in the US, a notoriously slow processor, especially for more demanding apps and games. Many Galaxy A-series fans will most likely welcome the change.
Samsung is putting a lot of eggs in that basket
Top 10 best-selling smartphones for Q1, 2026. | Image by Counterpoint
The Galaxy A-series was always a big revenue driver for Samsung. In fact, the Galaxy A17 was the world's best-selling Android phone in several quarters last year, beating not only more expensive Galaxy A-series models but also the flagship Galaxy S series. Even in Q1, 2026 the phone ranked 5th overall, right next to its even more budget cousin, the Galaxy A07 4G.
Samsung Electronics plans to begin mass production of the 4G model of the Galaxy A18 in August. The current monthly production plan for the A18 4G model is reportedly 100,000 units in August, 2.4 million units in September, and 2.5 million units in October.
The Snapdragon-equipped Galaxy A18 5G variant will most likely launch after the 4G version, due to Qualcomm's own manufacturing schedule.
The Galaxy A18 4G will most likely debut first, sometime in the second half of 2026, while the 5G version launch could follow a few weeks later. What about the price, though?
Budget phones are better than ever. What about price hikes?
The Galaxy A17 5G offers a great bang for your buck, but what about the Galaxy A18? | Image by Samsung
The Galaxy A-series models have been a huge commercial success for Samsung, as I mentioned earlier. Slapping a Snapdragon processor on the Galaxy A18 5G will make it even better, as Qualcomm chips are still a tad more efficient and powerful than their Exynos counterparts.
One big question remains, though. Will there be price hikes in the lower Galaxy A-series ranks? The Galaxy A17 5G started at $199 when it launched last year, making it an amazing bargain with its 6.7-inch 90Hz AMOLED screen, big 5,000 mAh battery, and decent 50MP main camera.
If Samsung manages to keep the price down, the Galaxy A18 could bring a huge chunk in revenue, given the aggressive production numbers the company has set.
What do you think about this piece of news? The move away from Exynos on budget Samsung phones might be just the beginning, and we could see a shift in the upper echelon as well. The Galaxy S26 series still follows that split strategy, and I personally would love to see Snapdragon chips on all models and in all markets.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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