Would Samsung consider using Dimensity APs for future flagship phones?

Looking to get some more business out of Samsung, leaker Revegnus (via Wccftech) says in a tweet that MediaTek is offering the manufacturer special pricing. The goal is to get Samsung, whose global smartphone dynasty ended last year, to commit to MediaTek's Dimensity chipsets to power more low-end Galaxy handsets. The reason for making a switch to Dimensity would be a financial one as it would help to improve the company's profit margins.

Let's make one thing clear. Samsung just signed a multi-year supply agreement with Qualcomm which means that the top-of-the-line Snapdragon APs will still be found in the Galaxy S Ultra and Galaxy Z foldable handsets for the next few years. But MediaTek is looking to start small, get its silicon inside more lower-end handsets, and possibly move up from there to mid-range and flagship models. Most foundries are raising prices to make up for lower demand, and price hikes for Qualcomm Snapdragon chip prices are going to continue to rise leaving Samsung to deal with lower margins.

Right now, thanks to the aforementioned supply agreement between Qualcomm and Samsung, the latter's flagship and foldable phones will use Snapdragon chips at least until the agreement ends. But if MediaTek has been expanding its business with Samsung, and continues to offer the company special pricing for its chipsets, Samsung will have a big decision to make. 

Depending on what kind of deals Qualcomm and MediaTek offer at that time, Sammy could decide to stick with the Snapdragon 8 line, switch to Dimensity chips, or consider powering its flagship and high-end handsets with one of its homemade Exynos chipsets.

The Exynos 2400 SoC, used to power the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ in most markets outside of the U.S. and China, is a deca-core chip that delivered benchmark scores that challenged the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 AP. If Samsung continues to improve its top-of-the-line Exynos chip, it could be considered for use in Samsung's high-end handsets by the time the deal with Qualcomm ends.

If Revegnus is right, we should start to see more budget Galaxy phones powered by Dimensity chips. The big question is whether MediaTek will be able to continue to offer large enough discounts to Samsung to entice it to eventually make the switch to Dimensity for its pricier smartphones. Does this mean that performance and power efficiency don't matter? Not at all. But we are getting closer to a time when Dimensity, Snapdragon, and even Exynos chips can compete with each other. and that leaves pricing as the big differentiator.