Samsung recently unveiled the Exynos 2600 built on its in-house 2nm GAA process, signaling a renewed push in advanced manufacturing and a long-term effort to reduce reliance on Qualcomm, a shift expected to accelerate with next-gen Exynos. According to Wccftech, sources say the company is developing a proprietary GPU for the Exynos 2800.

Once Qualcomm’s agreement with Samsung expires, Samsung is expected to ramp up Exynos production and deploy its in-house chips across most of its smartphone lineup, according to Wccftech. Rising Qualcomm chip costs further support this possibility, with the report noting that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is estimated to cost around US$280 per unit, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 could exceed US$300 next year. However, Wccftech also points out that Samsung’s first major challenge will be improving its manufacturing yields.

Analysts cited by the report believe that advancing in-house CPU and GPU designs will allow Exynos to take on a more prominent role. On Samsung’s potential custom CPU plans, Wccftech notes that the company has reportedly set up a dedicated unit focused on developing in-house solutions to compete with Apple and Qualcomm, and the Exynos 2800 may be the first chipset to feature these capabilities.

Samsung Reportedly Accelerates Push Toward In-House GPU Development

As for GPU development, Samsung has relied on AMD’s GPUs from the Exynos 2200 through the Exynos 2500. However, sources cited by Sammy Fans suggest the company could bring its GPU in-house with the Exynos 2800 as early as 2027, with the chip expected to power the Galaxy S28 series in 2028. The report also adds that Samsung may look to extend its Exynos GPU roadmap into areas such as smart glasses, autonomous vehicle chips, and humanoid robots.

Amid its push toward in-house GPU development, Sammy Fans notes that the Exynos 2600 features the Xclipse 960 GPU based on AMD’s RDNA4 architecture. While the chip marks Samsung’s first step toward greater in-house GPU involvement, Sammy Fans points out that the underlying GPU architecture for the Exynos 2600 still comes from AMD. However, the report adds that this could change in the near future as Samsung explores ways to develop its own GPU architecture.

At present, only a small number of companies develop proprietary GPU, including NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple, and Qualcomm, according to Yonhap News. While Samsung Electronics has its own mobile application processor, Exynos, the report notes that its GPUs have so far relied on external intellectual property from other vendors.

The company’s push to develop proprietary GPUs is also reflected in recent hiring, as Samsung continues to recruit GPU veterans to strengthen its in-house capabilities. According to Sammy Fans, Samsung has hired John Rayfield, a former AMD executive with deep experience in graphics and computing, as Senior Vice President at the Advanced Computing Lab (ACL) and the Samsung Austin Research Center (SARC), where he will focus on advancing future Exynos chips and in-house GPU technologies.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Unveils Exynos 2600: Industry-First 2nm GAA AP With 113% AI Performance Uplift
• [News] Samsung Reportedly Cuts Exynos 2600 Price by $20–30 Below Qualcomm to Spur Adoption

(Photo credit: Samsung)