Samsung's Exynos chip brand went through a rough patch after the Exynos 2200 SoC and the Galaxy S22 series were released. Even though the S22 flagship was later optimized, it suffered from a rocky start. Many blamed the Exynos 2200 solution, especially because the select Galaxy S22 models powered by Qualcomm chips were superior.
That's all in the past, and the Exynos image is now beginning to shift in Samsung's favor. The company skipped the Exynos 2xxx chip in 2023 and focused on developing and perfecting the Exynos 2400. The latter solution debuted along with the Galaxy S24 series a couple of months ago, and so far, it proved to be a much-needed success for Samsung's in-house chip brand.
But even though I am thoroughly pleased with my Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24+, I believe Samsung's work to revitalize Exynos is only half done. I hope the company will soon prove that its mobile SoC brand and chip manufacturing capabilities are in great shape beyond reasonable doubt. And perhaps the ultimate proof will lie in the upcoming Galaxy A55.
Mid-range Galaxy A needs a solid Exynos experience
The Galaxy A54 and Exynos 1380 chip, released in 2023, are average. They seemingly perform better now, but poor optimization and general performance issues at launch caused One UI to stutter. What good first impressions most Galaxy A54 users may have had were marred by the Exynos 1380 SoC's mediocre performance.
In retrospect, it's odd how the mid-range Galaxy A54 and Exynos 1380 SoC almost made the same mistake in 2023 as the high-end Galaxy S22 and Exynos 2200 did a year earlier.
Fortunately for the Galaxy S series and the high-end market, Samsung appears to be on the road to redemption, as far as Exynos is concerned. But I believe that, for Exynos to really succeed and Samsung Foundry to gain more ground, Exynos must also prove its worth in the mid-range segment.
In my view, the upcoming Exynos 1480 might be Samsung's final test to determine whether Exynos truly is back on track. The Galaxy A55, which should go on sale next week, is expected to be powered by this new mid-range Exynos 1480 SoC. This is Samsung's chance to prove that it is paying attention to its mid-range solutions and doesn't treat the lower-cost Exynos chip as an afterthought.
So far, the Exynos 1480 SoC looks promising. Samsung manufactures it on a 4nm process similar to the high-end Exynos 2400. The Exynos 1480 is also the first mid-range Samsung SoC to boast an AMD RDNA-based graphics chip.
Early benchmarks (via GizChina) show potential. The Exynos 1480 outperforms the Exynos 1380 by a decent margin in many synthetic tests, both in CPU and GPU performance.
Of course, benchmarks only tell one side of the story, and the real world will be the ultimate proving ground. I hope the Exynos 1480 will be powerful and optimized enough to really elevate the Galaxy A55 user experience and convince fans that Exynos truly is back on track. So, here's hoping the Galaxy A55 won't repeat the A54's mistakes.
The Exynos 2400 might be the new beginning Samsung Foundry and Exynos needed, but the 1480 SoC might be the one that really proves Samsung's commitment to making better chips.
