It was only a matter of time before rumors suggesting the next Galaxy S flagship may be powered exclusively by Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips started flowing in, and the floodgates have now opened.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, “Qualcomm will likely be the sole SoC supplier for the Samsung Galaxy S25.” The analyst attributes the lack of an Exynos variant to a lower-than-expected yield for the 3nm fabrication process that will be used for the next flagship Exynos chip, the Exynos 2500.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 might power all Galaxy S25 models
For the Galaxy S24 series, Qualcomm supplied around 40% of the chipsets. Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in all markets. The Exynos 2400 powers the base Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ everywhere except the US, Canada, China, and Japan.
In nearly 15 years of making Android phones, the only time Samsung ditched Exynos chips for a Galaxy S flagship lineup was in 2023. It disappointed many when it was confirmed that Exynos would return with the Galaxy S24 series. But fortunately, the Exynos 2400 turned out to be an excellent chip, even if it didn't match the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on all levels.
Not a lot is known about the Exynos 2500. Rumors have claimed that it could match the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in power efficiency or even surpass it. Those efficiency gains would reportedly be a result of Samsung's second-generation 3nm fabrication process, but it now appears that process may not have the desired yield.
Snapdragon-only Galaxy S25 may result in a price hike
Usually, Samsung ditching Exynos would please us, but we don't think it's a good thing in this case. Rumor has it that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could be much pricier than its predecessors, which may force Samsung to ask higher prices for the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra.
All that said, it's still early days in the Galaxy S25 rumor lifecycle, so nothing is certain for now. A lot could change in the coming months, and we may not get any solid information about the Galaxy S25 series until after the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.
