For Samsung, Exynos was the flagship SoC of choice. However, in 2022, Samsung’s strategy has shifted slightly, with the company producing more Snapdragon-powered S Series smartphones for sale in larger markets. According to reports, Qualcomm currently controls approximately 70% of the shipment proportion for the latest Galaxy S22 series. It appears that Qualcomm will be the sole processor supplier for the Samsung Galaxy S23.
Ming-Chi-Kuo, a well-known smartphone analyst, shared this on Twitter. According to his tweet, Samsung may give up using its next-generation Exynos chip, codenamed Exynos 2300, for the upcoming flagship series because it is less capable than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen2, codenamed SM8550.
The analyst suggests that TSMC’s design for the SM8550 will be much more powerful and efficient than Samsung’s processor. Hence, the whole S23 Series will be powered by Qualcomm chips and the firm will eventually lead the high-end Android SoC market in 2023. Since the high-end market has been less affected by the recession, Qualcomm and TSMC will benefit greatly from market share gains.
This move may allow Samsung to focus more on its goal of developing a dedicated application processor (AP) for Galaxy devices, which is expected to arrive with Galaxy devices in 2025, as we previously reported. According to reports, the development of a specialized AP with high performance and low battery consumption is currently underway.