There has been a lot of back and forth in the media about Samsung's possible chipset choice for the upcoming Galaxy S25 series. Some rumors suggest that the lineup will only feature Exynos 2500 chips. Some say that even if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is likely to be more expensive than usual, the unexpectedly low yields of Exynos will force Samsung to go back to a two-chip strategy. Now, new rumors point to a third chip brand.
Take this with a pinch of salt. However, according to sources cited by South Korean news outlet The Financial News, Samsung is considering pursuing a three-pronged chip strategy for the first time with the Galaxy S series.
In other words, the report claims that Samsung is not only considering using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Exynos 2500 SoCs, but also developing a third flagship model of the Galaxy S25 with a MediaTek Dimensity chip.
Possible Pros and Cons of Such a Strategy
Samsung has never adopted a three-chip strategy in its flagship phones, and the addition of MediaTek would be a first. What would be the benefits? And what could be the problems?
On the one hand, the addition of MediaTek could help Samsung maintain a balance of power and prevent Qualcomm from raising the prices of Snapdragon chips if Exynos fails to get things under control. Industry insiders have already said that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be 25-30% more expensive than the current Gen 3 chips.
Meanwhile, MediaTek is not a proven chip brand for Galaxy flagships. Samsung primarily uses MediaTek chips in some of its budget phones, but developing three Galaxy S25 variants across three regions instead of just one or two could backfire.
Moreover, developing new firmware updates for three different hardware configurations could be a huge burden. And while rising chip prices may be an inevitable reality at this point, no matter how Samsung tries to turn things around, that may be unfortunate.
This admittedly wild rumor doesn't specify which markets will receive which chips. But if there's any truth to these ambitious claims, we suspect that the MediaTek-powered Galaxy S25 variants may be limited to very select regions, such as China. The rest of the world will follow the Exynos-Qualcomm two-chip strategy as usual.
Either way, we recommend taking this rumor with a pinch of salt. As of now, there's no evidence to back up this fringe theory, and the official launch of the Galaxy S25 is still at least half a year away. Between now and early 2025, a lot can happen.