Samsung Electronics is running final performance verification on Qualcomm’s next-generation application processor slated for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, after overheating issues led to performance drops, according to a Sept. 16 report from Seoul Economic Daily cited by ChainCatcher.
The report said Samsung’s MX business under the DX division is testing the sixth-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme planned for the model and has asked Qualcomm to resolve the heat issue by mid-month.
Several people familiar with the matter said the chip repeatedly exceeded Samsung’s temperature threshold in recent internal tests. When heavy workloads were sustained, processing speed declined.
Samsung informed Qualcomm of the results last month. As of the report, the chip had still not met Samsung’s required level of thermal stability, and the two companies were continuing performance tuning and another round of verification.
The chip was introduced by Qualcomm last month as its top-tier mobile AP. It is aimed at handling complex on-device AI tasks while raising CPU and GPU performance.
Mass production of the Galaxy S27 series is scheduled for the end of this year, and Samsung plans to confirm the thermal improvement results by mid-month before making a final AP decision.
If the chip meets Samsung’s target, the company will proceed with Snapdragon as planned. If the issue remains unresolved, Samsung may use the Exynos 2700 instead. That chip is designed by Samsung System LSI and manufactured on the foundry division’s second-generation 2 nm SF2P process.
Samsung has used Qualcomm APs globally in its Ultra models since the Galaxy S23 Ultra in 2023. If the Exynos 2700 is adopted for next year’s Ultra device, it would mark a return to Samsung’s top-end model for the first time in about five years since 2022.
An industry source said Qualcomm’s AP has not been ruled out.