Qualcomm: The Samsung Galaxy S23 will completely ditch Exynos chips
Samsung seems to favor Snapdragon chips over its own Exynos processors, but will that trend hold true with laptops?
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What you need to know
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 phone is only a few months away, according to the most recent reports, which suggest it could launch in February 2023. When the tech giant announces its new flagship phone, there could be one major difference between the S23 and previous Galaxy devices. Unlike its predecessors, theGalaxy S23will reportedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor regardless of region.
Earlier this month, Qualcomm chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala confirmed that all global variants of theGalaxy S23 will run on Snapdragon chipsets. In contrast, previous Galaxy phones ran on either Samsung’s own Exynos processors or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips depending on where the devices were sold.
Shoppers in the United States wouldn’t be affected by the change, as U.S. models of Galaxy phones already run on Qualcomm chips, but those in Europe would see some benefits. Generally, Exynos chips perform worse than their Snapdragon counterparts. Many would view a shift away from Exynos as a move in the right direction.
Palkhiwala focused on phones using Snapdragon chips of Exynos CPUs, but the development raises an interesting question about Samsung’s Windows on ARM laptops, such as theGalaxy Book Go. At one point, Samsung was rumored to have anExynos-powered laptop with an AMD GPUin the works. The rumored launch event for that device, however,did not happen.
Near the end of 2021, it was revealed that Microsoft and Qualcomm had anexclusivity agreement regarding Windows on ARM. Reports indicated that the deal was set to expire, which would pave the way for Windows on ARM PCs with chips from other manufacturers, such as MediaTek and Samsung.
If that exclusivity agreement does end, it will be interesting to see if Samsung makes laptops with its own Exynos chips or sticks with Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs as it plans to do with the Galaxy S23.
Microsoft has partnered heavily with Samsung for its Galaxy phones, integratingOneDriveinto Samsung’s version of Android, as well asPhone Linkfor Windows 10 and 11 sharing features. We expect that this partnership will extend to the Samsung Galaxy S23, which will undoubtedly become one of thebest phones for Windows userswhen it drops.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
