KB News Desk
Exynos 2500 may not be used for upcoming Galaxy S25 family
By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Electronics’ mobile application processor (AP) series Exynos is facing uncertainty over its future use, as the chipset may be excluded from the company’s flagship Galaxy S25 smartphones which will debut next year.
According to industry officials, Samsung will allegedly use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 as the AP for all of its Galaxy S25 family. An AP works as the brain of a smartphone, similar to how a central processing unit functions for a computer.
This dashed initial speculation that Samsung will likely use both the Snapdragon and Samsung’s latest Exynos 2500 chipset for the Galaxy S25 family, so that the company can save costs for Qualcomm chips and nurture the company’s fabless and foundry businesses.
Tianfeng International Securities analyst Kuo Ming-chi also noted that Qualcomm may be the exclusive AP supplier for the Galaxy S25, because the Exynos 2500 may not be shipped due to Samsung’s lower-than-expected manufacturing yield. Manufacturing yield refers to the ratio of good and error-free units to the total number of units produced.
Samsung’s APs have faced difficulties over the past two years after the Exynos 2100 and 2200 faced criticisms for their thermal management. However, the company regained favorable market responses with the Exynos 2400, which was used for the Galaxy S24 family alongside the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipsets.
Despite its successful return to the AP market, the company appears to be struggling with the supply of Exynos 2500 due to a lower-than-expected manufacturing yield.
Samsung Electronics said in its earnings call for the second quarter that “we will concentrate our resources for the stable supply of the Exynos 2500,” but the manufacturing yield of the Exynos 2500 remained in the single digits until the first quarter of this year, leading to delays in supplying engineering samples.
Domestic analysts assume that Samsung managed to improve the yield to nearly 20 percent in the second quarter, but this is still insufficient for mass production, which requires a yield of at least 60 percent.
Given the current curve, industry observers assume that the Exynos 2500 could be used for the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 7 series, which will likely be introduced in the market next summer.
A delay in the introduction of the Exynos processors may deal a blow to the electronics giant’s overall earnings.
Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which is in charge of the company’s chip business, may suffer a slowdown in its revenue and operating profit, while the company’s Mobile Experience division, which is in charge of smartphones, will likely see its bargaining power diminish due to its higher dependency on Qualcomm chipsets.
According to Samsung’s regulatory filing, it spent 6 trillion won ($4.47 billion) on purchasing mobile APs from Qualcomm and MediaTek in the second half of this year, up from 5.75 trillion won a year earlier. The expenditure may increase further, as Qualcomm is expected to make a 25 to 30 percent price hike compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
“A delay in the supply of the Exynos 2500 is not a favorable sign not only for Samsung’s mobile AP business but also overall profitability of the company’s smartphone business,” a chip industry official said.
“If delays with the Exynos 2500 persist, the company’s smartphone division may have to expand the use of MediaTek’s Dimensity processors.”
