Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of the Exynos 2700, the application processor (AP) that will power its Galaxy S27 smartphone series. Production volume is understood to be more than 10% higher than that of its predecessor.
According to industry sources on Oct. 2, Samsung Electronics recently started full-scale front-end foundry production of its in-house AP, the Exynos 2700. Production volume is more than 10% higher than last year's Exynos 2600, as an additional Galaxy S27 model will use the Exynos chipset.
"Until last month, Samsung's Mobile eXperience (MX) division had yet to finalize the Exynos 2700 adoption ratio, but it has now determined the volume needed for the Galaxy S27 base, Plus and Pro models and begun wafer mass production," an industry source said. The move means production has progressed beyond the small-volume sampling stage.
Samsung Electronics outsources the final testing of device wafers completed through the front-end process to outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) companies. The company then carries out packaging in-house. Typically, it takes three to four months from the time wafers enter a front-end fabrication plant to completion of the final products.
Samsung Electronics will add a Pro model to the Galaxy S27 lineup, which is scheduled to launch next year. The lineup previously consisted of the base, Plus and Ultra models. The increase in production volume is understood to be intended for the new Pro model.
Application processors for the Galaxy S27 series will be divided by country and region, as was the case with the Galaxy S26 series. The base, Plus and Pro models sold in South Korea and Europe are expected to use the Exynos 2700. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 6th-generation series is expected to be used in the US, China and other markets.
For the top-end Galaxy S27 Ultra, however, Samsung has yet to decide whether the Exynos 2700 will be used or what portion of devices will carry it. The previous Galaxy S26 Ultra was equipped entirely with Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th-generation chipset.
Opinions within Samsung Electronics are reportedly divided. The company's System LSI Business, which designs and supplies Exynos chips, strongly wants the Exynos to be adopted because it would help secure both earnings and technological credibility. The MX division, which has the final decision-making authority, is weighing multiple factors including performance and thermal validation, pricing versus Qualcomm's chips and production capacity on Samsung Foundry's SF2P process.
◇ Samsung Internal Confidence in Exynos 2700 Performance
Qualcomm's top-end mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th generation, is likely to be used in the Galaxy S27 Ultra.
This year, Qualcomm for the first time divided its flagship product family into two variants: the standard Elite and Elite Extreme. The newly introduced Elite Extreme chipset offers improved artificial intelligence (AI) computing and graphics processing unit (GPU) performance compared with the Elite.
Samsung Electronics is increasing the share of Exynos 2700 chips to reduce its dependence on Qualcomm and improve cost competitiveness. In particular, the consideration of using Exynos in the Ultra model is being interpreted as a sign of confidence in the chipset's performance.
There have also been claims recently that, in Samsung Electronics' internal Geekbench 6 testing, the Exynos 2700 recorded a multi-core score 9.5% higher than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 6th-generation Extreme chipset.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th generation recorded a single-core score of 4,308 and a multi-core score of 12,856 on Geekbench 6. Based on these figures, the Exynos 2700's multi-core score would exceed 14,000. Its single-core score, however, is still estimated to trail Qualcomm's chip.
The Exynos 2700 will be manufactured using Samsung Foundry's second-generation 2-nanometer process, known as SF2P. Compared with the first-generation 2-nanometer SF2 process, SF2P offers a 12% performance improvement, 25% lower power consumption and an 8% reduction in chip area.
The CPU performance of the Exynos 2600, manufactured on SF2, was around 3,200 points for single-core and 11,000 points for multi-core on Geekbench 6. Applying the performance improvements of the SF2P process would put those scores at about 3,600 and 12,300, respectively. The Exynos 2700, which incorporates a newer design, will need to surpass those figures.
