Samsung is working on a new mid-range Exynos chip that could power next year's Galaxy A56. This chip, which features the model number S5E8855, is codenamed ‘Santa‘, according to GalaxyClub.
The Galaxy A55, which launched in March this year, is powered by the Exynos 1480. The Exynos 1480 is codenamed ‘Rose‘ and sports the model number S5E8845, so unless Samsung changes how it assigns model numbers to its in-house chipsets, the S5E8855 is likely the Exynos 1580.
It's also likely to make its debut with the Galaxy A56 next year. Unfortunately, except for the model number and codename, GalaxyClub hasn't revealed any details about this chip.
That's probably because there isn't any other information available about the Exynos 1580. After all, the Galaxy A55, and the Exynos 1480 that powers it, launched merely three months ago.
Exynos 1580 codename and model number is all we know right now
While the Santa codename is interesting, it doesn't really provide any indication to what the Exynos 1580 will offer. The Exynos 1480 is a fabulous chip that brought substantial upgrades, including the first mid-range AMD-powered GPU. But we don't expect Samsung to bring substantial upgrades to a mid-range chip two years in a row.
However, it would be great to see Samsung focus on enhancing the performance of the Exynos 1480's neural processing unit (NPU). That would allow the company to bring Galaxy AI features to mid-range devices.
That's assuming it's something the company actually wants to do. We can see Samsung keeping Galaxy AI exclusive to flagships for another year or two so it can sell more of them, though it's welcome to surprise us, just like the real Santa surprises kids around the world every year.
We'll let you know as soon as we learn more about the Exynos 1580 and the Galaxy A56, so stay tuned. If you're looking for a new mid-range phone right now, the Galaxy A55 is a solid choice, and you can read all about it in our official review.
