Will Exynos processors soon be liberated from AMD GPUs?

Since the Exynos 2200, Samsung has used AMD graphics architecture for the GPUs of its SoCs; so far without much success. As a result, the Korean company will consider ending this partnership.

Since 2019, Samsung has entered into a licensing agreement for GPUs with AMD. This materialized in 2022 with the integration of a GPU with RDNA 2 architecture in the Exynos 2200 (Xclipse 920 GPU). It introduced hardware support for ray tracing or even VRS support (Variable speed shading). We also find the RDNA 2 GPU in the Exynos V920, a chip dedicated to the automotive sector that will be used in Hyundai cars from 2025 in particular. The Xclipse 940 of the current Exynos 2400 uses the RDNA 3 GPU. The Exynos 2500 will retain the GPU. from AMD (Xclipse 950), but will be the last in this line.

Exynos 2600 without AMD GPU?

Indeed, according to information provided by Roland Quandt, Samsung will consider divesting from AMD from 2026; in other words, from Exynos 2600.

The partnership between AMD and Samsung began in 2019. Both companies extended it in April 2023 for an undisclosed period. Given that the first one expired after four years, we can envisage a more or less similar duration for the current one.

However, if the Lisa Su-led company’s graphics architecture shines on 9th-gen consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series) – to the point that the new GPU will be the cornerstone of the upcoming PS5 Pro – and brings joy to portable consoles e.g. Steam Deck or ROG Ally, it is more difficult for it to gain a foothold on smartphones.

In fact, with the Samsung Galaxy S24, some examples of which use the Exynos 2400 chip and others are armed with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the confrontation is clearly turning in favor of the chip developed by the American company based on the GPU.

Exynos 2500, the best RDNA shorty?

Therefore, once the current license expires, Samsung does not intend to renew it; at least that’s what Roland Quandt suggests. Well, this division is not on the agenda yet: in principle, Samsung and AMD still have to release the Exynos 2500, equipped with the Xlipse 950 under RDNA architecture. However, we don’t know if this chip will be eligible for RDNA 3+ (future mobile processor architecture) or RDNA 4 (like the Radeon RX 8000).

Hmm… so this is S5E9945, right? (Exinos 2400)
And then comes S5E9955.
Exynos 2400 is equipped with AMD GPU. Apparently, the next release will also use an AMD GPU.

After that, in 2026, Samsung seems to be targeting a next-gen flagship SoC with a custom GPU.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) May 4, 2024

To be honest, as it stands now and after abandoning the Exynos 2300, Samsung’s plans for the coming years remain very uncertain. The Korean company has not yet revealed its plans for the future Exynos 2500. According to rumors, this processor will benefit from 3nm engraving.

As for AMD, which, for your information, sold its mobile division to Qualcomm in 2009, this divorce from Samsung will mean a certain failure in the smartphone market. For its part, NVIDIA last year entered into a partnership with MediaTek, mainly in the field of automotive SoCs.