Samsung Galaxy S25 to run on Qualcomm chips

The Galaxy S25, a new iteration of Samsung Electronics Co.'s flagship Galaxy smartphone series, will run on Qualcomm Inc.’s application processors (APs) to significantly improve its performance, notably generative AI functions. That will enable it to better compete with Apple Inc.'s first AI phone, iPhone 16, that launches next week, according to industry sources on Sunday.

Qualcomm’s next-generation mobile AP Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, produced via a 3-nanometer process, will be mounted on all Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphones, scheduled for release in January. 

The embedding of Qualcomm’s latest APs on the S25s will up their performance by more than 30%, compared with its predecessor S24, the world’s first AI phones, the sources said.

The S24 series, launched early this year, came in three versions. The top-end model S24 Ultra runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 made on a 4-nm node. The non-Ultra models — S24 and S24 Plus — are fitted with Samsung’s in-house AP Exynos 2400.

The mobile AP is called the brain of a smartphone: its central processing unit, graphics, camera and other functions are all contained on a single chip. In the era of generative AI, smart gadget makers including Chinese companies such Huawei and Xiaomi are joining the competition to incorporate AI technology.

 
SNAPDRAGON CHIPS CUSTOMIZED TO S25 SERIES

Samsung expects Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, tailor-made for the S25 series, to make the upcoming smartphones competitive against iPhone 16.

Qualcomm designed the next-generation mobile processor, optimized for the S25 series, to win over Samsung, which had planned to use its in-house AP Exynos 2500 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 for the new models. TSMC will manufacture the new Snapdragon chips. 

Except for the S23 models, Samsung embedded its smartphones with Exynos and Snapdragon APs as part of its efforts to trim manufacturing costs and expand its AP design capabilities and foundry business.

Exynos processors are designed by Samsung’s System LSI business division and produced by Samsung Foundry.

EXYNOS 2500 FOR FOLDABLE PHONES

For the upcoming S25 series, Samsung has decided not to use its next-generation AP Exynos 2500 and instead focus on improving its production yields and performance, the sources said.

It is expected to adopt the Exynos 2500 for its new foldable smartphone series, the Z Flip and Z Fold, to be rolled out in the second half of next year.

Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone maker by shipment volume with a 20% market share, higher than Apple's 16%.

But it trails Apple in the premium smartphone segment, where it controls 16%, well below Apple’s 50%.

In the mobile AP market, Samsung competes with Qualcomm and Taiwan's MediaTek Inc. But in the premium mobile processor segment, its head-on rival is the US chipset maker. 

In 2023, APs accounted for some 20% of Samsung’s smartphone manufacturing costs. It spent 11.7 trillion won ($8.7 billion) on purchasing APs in 2023, versus 7.6 trillion won in 2021

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang and Ui-Myung Park at hjs@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article