Samsung will most likely be using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 application processors (AP) on its upcoming Galaxy S23 series smartphones for better performance, said TheElec.

Samsung was trying to increase the market share of its Exynos platform by offering them at 5-nanometer (nm) and 4nm nodes.

However, with sub-par performance and heating issues, the 4nm nodes have had a very low yield so far.

Samsung System LSI, the company’s logic designing unit, is planning to manufacture its next Exynos series, likely to be called Exynos 2300, using 5nm nodes because of this problem, they added.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the other hand is being manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm node, meaning it will have overall better performance compared to the 5nm Exynos 2300, noted TheElec.

This is why Samsung chose to go with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as the main APs on the S23 series.

The company’s own Exynos platform will power mid-tier smartphones instead of flagships and TSMC’s 4nm node will power the S23 series smartphones.

Galaxy S22 used Exynos chips but this resulted in an issue with the Gaming Optimization Service (GOS).

Performance of GOS came at a cost as Samsung intentionally limited its performance to avoid overheating.

Other sources also told TheElec that Samsung may have put little resources into the development of its 4nm node as it was considered a bridge between 5nm and 3nm. However, customer demand for 4nm were higher than expected, they added.

Samsung chip boss Kyung Kye-hyun admitted in September that the company was behind in schedule and yield in 5nm and 4nm nodes compared to rival TSMC.

Samsung MX Business is also expected to aid in the development of processors with Samsung System LSI that it plans to use on its smartphone.

Meanwhile, Samsung Foundry, Samsung’s contract chip production unit, is also expected to conduct some overhaul.