Qualcomm share dips as Samsung shifts Galaxy to Exynos

Qualcomm said it co-designs chips with Samsung for Galaxy phones as Samsung shifts more models to Exynos.

Recent Galaxy model use Exynos in chips, while premium variants still rely on Snapdragon.

Qualcomm’s share has reportedly slipped to about 75% from 100%, and an analyst projects 50% for the S27.

Samsung reportedly spent US$9.2 billion on external mobile processors in 2025, up 26.5% year-on-year.

Some reviewers reported higher heat and battery drain on Exynos models, with concern over misaligned incentives within Samsung.

🔗 Source: Korea Herald

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Samsung’s mobile division gets the Exynos 2600 from Samsung’s chip division for $20 to $30 less per unit than Qualcomm’s chip, which helps profits and gives Samsung more room in talks with Qualcomm 1.
Benchmarks put Snapdragon ahead on single-core CPU speed, while Exynos 2600 stays close and sometimes pulls ahead on multi-core or select graphics tests depending on the device and test setup 2.
AI results look even, based on one MLPerf Inference: Mobile comparison (an industry benchmark suite for on-device AI performance). Exynos 2600 takes three of six tests (Classification, Detection, Language) and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 takes the other three (Segmentation, Super-Res, Stable Diffusion) 3.
Samsung still uses Snapdragon only in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. One report puts the Ultra at 50% of Galaxy S-series sales 1.

By splitting Exynos and Snapdragon across the S26 lineup, Samsung can press for better pricing later. Qualcomm expects to supply about 75% of Galaxy S26 chips, which leaves the rest for Exynos 4.
Exynos 2600 is described as the first 2-nanometer (2nm) smartphone chipset, built on Samsung’s 2nm GAA (gate-all-around) process. It also serves as a visible proof point while Samsung competes with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker) 2.
If the rollout goes well, more big buyers may trust Samsung’s manufacturing. Qualcomm has said it is working with Samsung on 2nm production on Samsung’s process node, and the design work is complete 5.