Will the Samsung Galaxy S25 Exclusively use Snapdragon Chips?

We recently did a roundup of all the rumors surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S25, including one leak that comprehensively listed the new smartphone’s entire range of components. One element that we were somewhat curious about was the processor that the new smartphone would use.

Initial reports indicated that Samsung would vary the processor by region, meaning that some S25 phones would get the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, whilst the remainder received some variation on Samsung’s native Exynos chip. However, according to this report by Korean outlet Hankyung, the S25 will exclusively use the Snapdragon chip - with the Exynos range of chips being consigned to other products like the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Fold range.

The initial reaction to this would no doubt be a positive one: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is praised for its hyper-powerful productivity gains, and can be used for a range of computationally demanding apps - including photo editing and gaming. The Snapdragon chip is set to rival Apple’s new A18 chip, which will formally debut with the iPhone 16, and offers AI-powered tools for a range of applications.

That said, it also means an uptake in price proportional to that performance. The Galaxy S24 was far from a bargain smartphone (and the base and Plus models both used an Exynos chip), and with this more expensive processor we can expect to pay over-the-odds for the new Samsung Galaxy S25.

Is it really too late for the Exynos? Just a few weeks ago, it was unveiled in the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch 7 - highlighting that it still shows promise as a processor. Whilst Samsung pushing the boat out on Android phone capabilities is far from a bad thing, most consumers won’t see the benefit of an ultra-powerful chip in their phones.

We’re still awaiting formal word regarding the S25’s official announcement, but we’re not expecting it before the end of the year. If the reports hold to be true, the Exynos chip that has served a suite of Galaxy products reliably could slowly be outmoded and replaced with Qualcomm equivalents. How the market will respond to a much more powerful - but much more expensive - Samsung Galaxy phone remains to be seen...