Samsung's Exynos 2700 outperforms Snapdragon in internal tests

Samsung Electronics' mobile application processor Exynos 2600. [Samsung Electronics YouTube]

Samsung Electronics' next-generation mobile application processor, the Exynos 2700, has outperformed Qualcomm's upcoming flagship chip in internal benchmark tests, industry sources said Sunday, adding weight to expectations that Samsung could expand use of its in-house processor in the Galaxy S27 series next year.

Samsung's MX Division recently ran head-to-head performance tests comparing the Exynos 2700 against Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, and the Exynos chip posted higher scores in most categories, according to industry sources.

Exynos is a mobile application processor designed in-house by Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division. It serves as the "brain" of a smartphone, handling core functions including computing, graphics and AI.

In CPU performance, the Exynos 2700 scored 19 percent higher than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 on the Geekbench 6.5 multicore benchmark. It also outpaced Qualcomm's top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro by 9.5 percent.

The GPU results were even more decisive. At peak performance, the Exynos 2700 beat the Qualcomm Pro model by 5 percent. Under a power cap of 2.5 watts, it outperformed the standard Snapdragon model by 24 percent and the Pro model by 22 percent.

The Exynos 2700 also led in on-device AI processing performance, an increasingly important metric for smartphones. In tests using the Llama 3.1 8B model, it generated responses 18 percent faster than the Qualcomm Pro chip. Its prompt recognition and processing speed was also 5 percent ahead of the Qualcomm chip.

Power efficiency, which directly affects battery life, also improved. In a simulated real-world usage test, the Exynos 2700 drew 161 milliamperes, compared with 185 milliamperes for the Qualcomm Pro model — about 12.7 percent lower power consumption.

The Exynos 2700 is set to be produced using SF2P, the second-generation 2-nanometer process from Samsung's foundry division. The shift to a finer process node is expected to boost power efficiency while also reducing heat generation and improving computing performance.

Industry observers say Samsung could raise the share of its own chips in the Galaxy S27 series next year if the Exynos 2700's performance and production yields stabilize. Reducing spending on externally sourced processors — which account for a significant portion of smartphone component costs — is also cited as a driver behind the push to expand in-house chip adoption.

The Galaxy Z Flip 8. [Samsung Electronics]

The previous-generation Exynos 2600 was used in some models of the Galaxy S26 series and in the Galaxy Z Flip 8.

Samsung Electronics spent 7.44 trillion won ($5.34 billion) on mobile application processors from Qualcomm, MediaTek and other suppliers in the first half of this year, equivalent to 17.9 percent of total raw-material procurement costs for its Device Experience division over the same period.

If Samsung's in-house chip competitiveness continues to improve, the company stands to lower component costs for its Galaxy lineup while also driving higher volume through its System LSI and foundry businesses.

go@heraldcorp.com