Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could have Galaxy S20's chipset, not an upgraded one

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus (Image credit: TechRadar)

If you want a glimpse at the Samsung Galaxy Note 20's processing power, maybe it's worth just looking at the Galaxy S20, because it's starting to seem that the upcoming phone will have the same chipset as its recently-released cousin.

This is according to the source code for the Galaxy S20, which XDA Developers has been dredging through. Of course the Galaxy S20 is mentioned quite a bit, but the code shines a light on some other Samsung phones coming up.

The most important tidbit is that it looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 phones will use the Snapdragon 865 chipset, same as the Galaxy S20. This should make their processing power roughly equal, although optimization and software advances could make the Note phone slightly better.

In some regions Samsung phones use Exynos chipsets, but there's no word on them in this code.

Other information is that the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 could also use the top-end Snapdragon processor,  which wouldn't exactly be a surprise since we're expecting the foldable phone to be very similar to the Note devices, just bendable.

Project...Zodiac?

A bigger mystery in this code is 'Project Zodiac', which is supposedly an upcoming device. There's no clues as to what this is, but if we were to speculate wildly, it could be a device that folds in a Z-shape with two hinges (due to 'Zodiac' starting with a 'Z' and nothing else). It seems likely it's a foldable phone, as these tend to have more mysterious names – and if the original Galaxy Fold is any indication these can sometimes fall to Pisces.

It's worth noting that most of XDA Developers' conclusions are based on assumptions based on codenames, but the reasoning seems solid, and the website is typically a reliable source, so we're inclined to believe it.

We'll find out for sure what the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is like come August, when we're expecting it to launch, but it might be quite a while longer before we discover what Project Zodiac is.

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.


He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist. He also currently works in film as a screenwriter, director and producer.