Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra tipped to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite globally – and that’s a good thing
Samsung is giving its most powerful phone of 2025 the most powerful chip, which is great news
🤖 Samsung is rumored to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite in every Galaxy S25
❌ The company is skipping out on Exynos processors this year
🦾 That’s a good thing for those who want the fastest smartphone experience
👀 The Galaxy S25 could even be faster than other Snapdragon 8 Elite phones
Samsung is rumored to have scheduled the Galaxy S25 release date for January 22, and before then, we’re still getting a fair amount of leaks.
The latest rumor suggests that Samsung will exclusively use the new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor in the S25 family, including the powerful Galaxy S25 Ultra. This means that the phones won’t use Samsung’s in-house Exynos chips at all, and based on our experience of reviewing phones over two decades, we can tell you that’s a good thing.
🤖 Snapdragon 8 Elite arriving on Galaxy S25 is a big deal
Ice Universe, a tech leaker who has a pretty solid track record, shared on X that the entire Galaxy S25 series would get the Snapdragon 8 Elite and that it would be the only chip available for the phones globally. This means that Samsung won’t be using one of its Exynos chips for global versions of its flagship phones, which is a big change for the company.
It’s a welcome change, mind you. Snapdragon processors have always been the best way to maximize performance on Android phones, dating back to the early days of touchscreen keyboards and having one tiny camera on the back of your device. Qualcomm’s chips have made their way into virtually every high-end Android phone for more than a decade, and now, it looks like Samsung will be embracing Snapdragon more than ever.
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While Snapdragon usually doesn’t match the insane performance of Apple’s A-series chips, the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite is positioned to compete head to head with the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro, which will make it one of the most powerful Snapdragon chips we’ve ever seen. In turn, that means there will be a lot of Android phones that can better compete with Apple’s flagships, including the entire Galaxy S25 family.
🦾 Why it trumps any Exynos chip… ever
Snapdragon processors have always proven to be faster than what Samsung can get out of Exynos. As smartphone reviewers, we have to run benchmark tests during our reviews to evaluate how far you can push a phone’s chip, and we always get much higher scores from Snapdragon processors than from Exynos.
Why that’s the case is unclear, but it’s likely that Samsung simply doesn’t have the same processor chops as Qualcomm. Sure, Samsung can better control how its chips perform with a Galaxy phone’s software since it has full control over the actual hardware, but it’s never enough to compete with the raw horsepower of a piece of Snapdragon silicone.
With the Snapdragon 8 Elite, we’re expecting impressive results not just from benchmarks but from day-to-day usage as well. Qualcomm has improved performance, graphics, efficiency, and more with the new chip, and its bold promises will likely translate to a better real-world experience.
🏎️ Galaxy S25 might not be first, but it could be faster
While the Galaxy S25 will be among the first Snapdragon 8 Elite phones, it won’t be the very first. Rumor has it the OnePlus 13 will be here even sooner, and we expect it to come with Qualcomm’s latest processor and beat the S25 to the punch. In addition, phones in other regions such as the Xiaomi 15, Realme GT7 Pro, Honor Magic 7 Pro, and Asus ROG Phone 9 come with the chip, so it’ll already have market presence before Samsung can announce its next flagships.
That being said, there’s a chance the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Galaxy S25 will be faster than the rest. Qualcomm and Samsung typically work together on special editions of Snapdragon chips to give them an extra boost in performance. Last year, we saw the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy” make its way into devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 which proved to be faster than the regular 8 Gen 3, so we could see the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy make its way into the S25, especially since it’s being sold all around the world.
How much faster will the special chip be? That part remains unclear, but in previous years, “for Galaxy” versions of Snapdragons chips were typically 10-15% quicker than their ordinary counterparts. It’s not a lot, but it’s something.
📆 Galaxy S25 release date is right around the corner
With the holidays quickly approaching and CES 2025 shortly thereafter, Samsung’s rumored Galaxy S25 event on January 22 will be here before we know it. Keep it locked to The Shortcut for updates on when you can get your hands on a Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, S25 Ultra, and the rumored Galaxy S25 Slim.
Max Buondonno is a writer at The Shortcut. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop.