In 2019, Samsung teamed up with AMD for mobile GPUs based on the latter’s Radeon graphics technology primarily used for computer graphics. They have so far only made two custom solutions for Exynos processors, including the Xclipse 940 GPU for the newly announced Exynos 2400. The Korean firm is confident that the new chip will deliver a better GPU performance than competitors. It appears Samsung will take things up a notch with the Exynos 2500.
The Exynos 2500 might feature a much-improved GPU
Samsung’s Exynos processors have long struggled to compete head-on against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon solutions. The chips had performance, efficiency, and thermal issues when the company used custom Mongoose CPU cores, and the switch to stock ARM cores hardly fixed anything. There have been some improvements, but flagship Exynos chips continue to underperform competing Snapdragon SoCs.
In the meantime, the Korean firm joined hands with AMD for custom GPUs. The Exynos 2200, which powered the Galaxy S22 series last year, featured the first custom solution. Samsung didn’t launch an Exynos 2300 and used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Galaxy S23 series globally. It’s now back with the Exynos 2400 for the Galaxy S24. The company says its Xclipse 940 GPU, based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture, brings a major performance boost.
With the Exynos 2500, Samsung will reportedly upgrade to the RDNA 4 GPU architecture. It will also feature the latest LPDDR5T mobile DRAM technology. X tipster Revegnus suggests AMD’s expertise in graphics solutions may finally come to the fore with the next-gen Exynos processor. “I didn’t have high expectations for the Exynos 2400,” the tipster said. “Samsung brought in GPU talents primarily for the 2500, not the 2400.”
The source is referring to Samsung’s recent hiring for its GPU team. Most notably, the Korean firm roped in Zhao Guo, co-founder of Chinese fabless semiconductor company Biren Technology, earlier this year. Guo previously worked with Qualcomm. Samsung has also hired a few more semiconductor experts who previously worked with Qualcomm and TSMC. It remains to be seen what the company comes up with next year.
The next-gen Exynos chip will be a 3nm solution
The Exynos 2400 is a 4nm chip. Samsung has begun 3nm mass production but has yet to apply the advanced process node to mobile SoCs. It will make the jump next year with the Exynos 2500. A company executive recently confirmed the plan. Like the latest solution, the next-gen Exynos chip will also feature a deca-core CPU (ten cores). More information about the Exynos 2500 should surface online in the coming months.
2023-10-31 15:06:25