Summary
- Samsung will stick with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset for its upcoming foldables, according to a new report.
- Cost considerations and existing partnerships have led Samsung to use Qualcomm’s flagship SoC with the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 phones.
- Samsung will also maintain the ‘For Galaxy’ branding with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, showcasing its ongoing partnership with Qualcomm.
Earlier this year, Samsung launched select variants of the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ with its home-grown Exynos 2400 SoC, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra featured Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip across the board. A report in March suggested that the South Korean electronics giant may take a similar split chipset approach with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is expected to launch in July. A fresh report out of South Korea is now contradicting the previous report.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: News, leaks, rumored price, and release window
With Samsung still the king of the clamshell world, what’s next for this series?
As per sources cited by The Elec’s, Samsung will stick with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip on both of its mid-year foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Z Flip 6. This suggests that Samsung is in no mood to make any changes to its foldable smartphones, which have only used Qualcomm chipsets so far. The report adds that Samsung considered factors like costs and its existing relationship with the chipmaker for this decision.
Nothing to do with the Exynos 2400’s complaints
A quick look through Samsung’s forums reveals multiple complaints related to the Exynos 2400 chipset, with some addressing overheating concerns, while others talk about battery life-related issues. However, The Elec says these factors had little to do with Samsung’s decision to forego the Exynos 2400 SoC for its upcoming foldables.
The report adds that Samsung is not in a position to offer split SoCs for its foldable models, especially since the Z Fold/Z Flip lineup has fewer shipments than the Galaxy S series of flagships. Furthermore, using two different chipsets for the same phone will drive the costs up, consequently making Samsung’s already costly foldables even more expensive. Taking this into account, Samsung will only be able to use different chipsets for the same phone when the shipments of the Galaxy Z Fold/Z Flip series match the company’s early-year flagships.
This means that Samsung will continue to include the ‘For Galaxy’ branding with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, much like we’ve seen in Qualcomm-powered Galaxy flagships since last year. As The Elec notes, this branding also indicates the extensive partnership between the two industry giants. It’s still unclear whether Samsung will offer split chipsets for the Galaxy S25 series early next year.
