Samsung is following in the footsteps of Apple by developing its own Exynos chipset for laptops. Equipped with AMD GPUs, it could eventually equip high-end Galaxy series phones as well.
Samsung announced in June 2020 a very promising partnership with AMD, aiming to license the RDNA graphics core and include it in its own chipsets, historically addressed to devices in the category of tablets and smartphones. Expectations were that the agreement would allow Samsung to “pair” processors from its own Exynos range with GPUs developed by AMD, replacing the “Mali” solutions used until then on Samsung chips.
Although fans were already hoping for the next Galaxy Note or Galaxy Z Fold, the current Exynos 2100 chipset came with performance much closer to the Snapdragon 888 alternative, but still without the graphics acceleration technologies promised by AMD.
Recent rumors circulating from close sources Samsung indicate a more cautious approach, the South Korean manufacturer will use the Radeon core developed for PCs and consoles, exactly as intended by AMD. Thus, instead of smartphones with AMD Radeon acceleration, we will first have Windows 10 laptops running on the ARM architecture, using augmented Exynos chipsets with RDNA graphics acceleration.
Exynos 2200, Apple M1 alternative
Apparently, Samsung aims to present the new Exynos 2200 as an alternative to the Apple M1 chipset, capable of running applications for Windows 10 and even some games, at a competitive performance level.
Although Exynos and Radeon are well-known brands, the concept of Windows on ARM is still far from the notoriety desired by Samsung. Part of the blame lies with Microsoft, the Windows 10 developer failing to fill the huge gap between the X86 and ARM architectures, the problem of access to compatible applications and the lack of performance compared to X86 solutions remaining discouraging factors for end consumers.
For now, there are no indications that the new chipset will reach the equipment of Samsung’s Chromebook models, but the possibility cannot be ruled out.
Even if the highest performance will be achieved on laptop systems, it is plausible that an optimized version of the Exynos 2200 will also come with the equipment of high-end Samsung phones, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
