Samsung Electronics is working on a long-term strategy that will shift the balance in the mobile processor market. The company’s recently introduced 2nm GAA technology Exynos 2600 chipset is seen as the first serious step towards reducing dependence on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. Industry analysts say that Samsung’s multi-million dollar R&D investment is not just to cater to a small segment of the market, and that the company’s ultimate goal is to establish Exynos dominance in Galaxy devices.
The aim of the investment is not to remain in the minority.
Renowned technology analyst Samir Khazaka emphasizes that Samsung’s massive budgets allocated to its own processor and graphics unit designs are not coincidental. Khazaka states that the company’s inclusion of the Exynos 2600 in approximately 25% of the Galaxy S26 series is a starting point and not a permanent situation. According to the analyst, no one would spend so much resources on a technology that will only remain a backup player. This situation indicates that Samsung management plans to increase production and mainstream Exynos processors once its agreement with Qualcomm ends.
One of the biggest motivations behind this strategic shift by the South Korean giant is rising costs. The unit cost of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor is estimated to be around $280, and the next-generation Gen 6 model is expected to exceed $300. Instead of paying these high licensing and product costs, Samsung aims to reduce costs and maintain its profit margin by increasing efficiency in its own 2nm manufacturing technology. It is predicted that increasing production efficiency, currently around 50%, will rapidly increase the use of Exynos.
The next major stop on the company’s roadmap will be the Exynos 2800. Samsung is developing its own solutions not only for processors but also for graphics units by customizing AMD architecture. The Xclipse 960 GPU, used in the Exynos 2600 and based on AMD RDNA 4-based MGFX4 architecture, is a crucial part of this transition. To compete with Apple and Qualcomm, the company has assembled a dedicated design team and is preparing to launch its own in-house engineered CPU and GPU designs with the Exynos 2800.
So, do you think Samsung can match the performance of the Snapdragon series with Exynos processors and regain user trust? Share your thoughts in the comments!
