Samsung Galaxy S24 may get a worse chipset than the S24 Ultra and Plus

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus in white, laying face down on a bowl of lemons
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Recently there have been whispers of Samsung offering different chipsets in different regions for the Samsung Galaxy S24 line, but now there’s a twist in the tale, as it seems the model you choose rather than the region you're in might dictate which chipset you get.

This comes from reputable leaker @Tech_Reve posting on X (formerly Twitter), who claimed as part of a short thread that there are “discussions” around using an Exynos 2400 chipset in the standard Samsung Galaxy S24, with the Galaxy S24 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra getting the rumored Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 instead.

That said, it sounds like no decision has been made, as the tipster claims that different regions getting different chipsets is also under consideration, with that latter approach being what Samsung did with the Galaxy S22 series and most other models prior to the Samsung Galaxy S23 (which got a Snapdragon chipset in all models and regions).

We’d think that Samsung is more likely to make it regional again, since reserving a Snapdragon chipset for the higher-end models is almost acknowledging that this is a better chipset than the company’s home-grown Exynos option.

Then again, over the years there have been lots of complaints about Samsung’s regional approach, since it means some countries get worse versions of the phones, and splitting the chipsets according to model rather than region would resolve this.

Either way, it does look increasingly likely that two different chipsets will be in the mix, as @Tech_Reve claims in the same thread that Samsung is managing to produce the Exynos 2400 in large quantities, so much so that it will be used in more regions (or units, depending on which approach Samsung takes) than the Exynos 2200 was with the Galaxy S22 line.

Potential positives

All of which sounds like bad news really, since Samsung’s Exynos chipsets tend to be worse than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ones, but there are potential upsides. 

For one thing, it’s likely that Samsung can build its own chipsets at a lower price than the cost involved in using a Qualcomm one, especially as reports suggest the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is particularly expensive. So using Exynos in some units might mean Samsung can keep the price of its phones lower.

That makes all the more sense if it uses Exynos in the entry-level Galaxy S24, making this an affordable flagship, while charging more for the higher-end models.

Plus, while Exynos chipsets tend to perform worse, @Tech_Reve additionally claims that “the manufacturing node’s performance for this Exynos 2400 has also significantly improved. It's competitive enough to rival the 8 Gen 3.”

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean the actual chipset will rival the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but it does mean there’s a chance. So for once, we might find that Exynos models are just as deserving of a place among the best phones as the Snapdragon-powered versions. With the Samsung Galaxy S24 line likely to land in early 2024, we’ll probably find out for sure then.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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