Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could have a key upgrade over the Galaxy S20

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

The Samsung Galaxy S20 range contains some of the most powerful phones on the planet, but – perhaps unsurprisingly – the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 might be even more powerful, as it’s rumored to have a new chipset.

According to industry sources speaking to ZDNet Korea, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will use an Exynos 992 chipset, which will offer improved performance over the Exynos 990 used by the Samsung Galaxy S20 range in most regions outside the US. This would in part be due to its smaller 6nm (nanometer) size, which allows for greater efficiency than the 7nm Exynos 990.

Based on previous rumors it would also be a slight improvement on the Snapdragon 865 (which is also 7nm) used by the S20 range in the US – though we’re only talking a 1-3% boost over that. The Snapdragon 865 already performs better than the Exynos 990 though, so the difference should be more noticeable outside the US.

While this is just a rumor for now, it would make sense in order to help differentiate the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 range from the Samsung Galaxy S20 range.

Not in the US

However, Samsung typically uses Snapdragon chipsets in the US for the Note range, just like the S range, and if that continues this year then the US Note 20 models could be at a disadvantage, as it’s also recently been rumored that there won’t be a Snapdragon 865 Plus (which would have been the late-2020 upgrade to the 865) this year.

So if all of this is accurate then the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 might be stuck with the Snapdragon 865 in the US, while other regions get a small boost from the Exynos 992. On the other hand, it’s possible Samsung will use the Exynos 992 everywhere.

Of course, this is all just rumors for now, so we can’t be certain of anything yet. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 range is likely to land in August, so we should find out for sure then.

Via SamMobile

James Rogerson

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.