Samsung is going all-in on Snapdragon chips for the Galaxy S25

By Patrick Hearn Published January 2, 2025 8:56 AM

Samsung Galaxy S24 in Marble Gray standing on park bench. — Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series rumor mill has been turbulent, and that’s putting it lightly. An unbelievable amount of information has emerged about this phone, but one debate that was never settled is whether it would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip or the Exynos 2400 chip. Now we have an answer thanks to leaked benchmarks: it’s all Snapdragon, all the way.

The most recent Galaxy S25 Geekbench results show a score of 2,986 single-core and 9,355 multi-core, a base frequency of 3.53GHz, and two separate processing clusters. The first has six cores clocked at 3.53GHz, and the second has two cores clocked at 4.47GHz, according to Tarun Vats on X.

Recommended Videos

The key takeaway is under CPU information. It shows a Qualcomm ARM unit in the international version of the Galaxy S25, which is undoubtedly the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The international model of the Galaxy S24 used the Exynos 2400 chipset, and early on, the S25 was believed to follow the same pattern. This leaked score suggests that Samsung is placing all its bets on the Snapdragon in the next iteration.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Breaking ‼️

Galaxy S25 (SM-S931B) just surfaced on Geekbench! 🚀

Powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Processor with 12GB RAM!
Single-Core: 2986
Multi-Core: 9355

Snapdragon 8 Elite is officially confirmed for Vanilla model in International markets (India, Europe & more)! 🌍 pic.twitter.com/9ySZFnKxRt

— Tarun Vats (@tarunvats33) December 31, 2024

Of course, take this with some skepticism. Another leak from November pointed to the Exynos chip as the likely choice for the S25 series in Europe, so until the handset actually releases, we won’t know for sure.

Both the Snapdragon 8 Elite and the Exynos 2400 are quality chips, but Snapdragon tends to be slightly more powerful and more energy-efficient than its competitor. The Galaxy S23 also used Snapdragon for every model in its lineup.

The one downside to using the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips is the higher cost. Samsung would be able to reduce costs with the Exynos chip, but Snapdragon is the more popular format for most fans. Opting to use all Snapdragon chips for the S25 series is a smart plan, but it might also account for part of the rumored price increase in the Galaxy S25.

Topics

Mobile Writer

Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…

Mobile

5 things Samsung needs to do to beat Apple in 2025

As we reach the end of the year, and with no more announcements planned until 2025, it’s time to revisit the two biggest phone players in the U.S. and compare and contrast the past 12 months for each.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra proved to be a blessing and a curse for Samsung, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 reaffirmed that this was the case. Samsung’s phones are fantastic, but struggle to stand out among the competition. Each competitor is targeting different Galaxy features to best, and so far, Samsung hasn’t pivoted course.

Mobile

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series leaks in full and I’m so tired

Leaked render of Samsung Galaxy S25.

We are approaching the next Unpacked event, and as usual, all the smartphone surprises that Samsung harbored have been spoiled by leaks. Granted, it’s a bit shaky to put all your faith in leaks. But what about some unceremonious web upload from one of the world’s top accessories brands?

Well, that just transpired on Dbrand’s website. The notoriously outspoken company has listed dozens of renders depicting the Galaxy S25 series smartphones, draped in a variety of skins available for enthusiasts.

Mobile

When can you preorder the Galaxy S25? A new report just leaked the date

Samsung Galaxy S24 in Marble Gray laying on a wooden planter.

Next month, Samsung is holding its Galaxy Unpacked event to announce the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, as well as a few other potential surprises. According to a new report, preorders for Samsung's newest phones might not go live until January 24 — two days after Galaxy Unpacked.

Preorders will also reportedly last until February 3, and anyone who preordered will receive their device on February 4, with the Galaxy S25 coming to the larger market on February 7, according to FNNews. The report also corroborates that the Galaxy Unpacked event will be held on January 22, something that has been consistently stated across a wide variety of sources.