Samsung may reintroduce Exynos in the Galaxy S27 Ultra due to heating issues with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme.

ChainCatcher report, according to Seoul Economic Daily on the 16th, the next-generation Qualcomm application processor intended for the flagship Galaxy S27 Ultra, set to launch in early next year, is experiencing performance degradation due to overheating. Samsung’s DX Division’s MX team is conducting final performance validation on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip for this model and has requested Qualcomm to resolve the overheating issue by mid-month. Multiple sources indicated that the chip repeatedly exceeded thermal thresholds during recent internal tests, resulting in reduced processing speeds under sustained high loads. Samsung informed Qualcomm of these findings last month, but as of the report, the chip has not yet met Samsung’s required thermal stability standards; both parties are continuing to enhance performance and revalidate. This chip, unveiled by Qualcomm last month, is its top-tier mobile AP, optimized for handling complex AI tasks on-device and featuring enhanced CPU and GPU performance. Mass production of the Galaxy S27 series is scheduled for the end of this year, with Samsung planning to confirm thermal improvements and finalize the AP selection by mid-month. If the issue is resolved, Samsung will proceed with the Snapdragon as planned; if not, it may adopt the Exynos 2700—designed by Samsung’s System LSI team and manufactured using its second-generation 2nm SF2P process—as an alternative. Since the Galaxy S23 Ultra in 2023, Samsung has used Qualcomm APs globally; if the Exynos 2700 is selected for next year’s Ultra model, it would mark the first return of an Exynos chip to the flagship lineup since 2022—nearly five years later. Industry insiders note that Qualcomm’s AP has not been definitively ruled out.