❤ Samsung confirms plans for Galaxy S25’s 3nm Exynos 2500 chip
Samsung just launched its first 3nm chip in the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra, and it has its sights on using the same process to launch the Exynos 2500 chip for “flagship products” such as the Galaxy S25 series.
In a post discussing its Q2 2024 earnings, Samsung confirms the Exynos 2500 by name, saying that the chip will come to “flagship products” using the same 3nm process as the Exynos W1000 that launched in Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra.
System LSI plans to focus its business capabilities on ensuring a stable supply of Exynos 2500 for flagship products. The initial market response to wearable products using the industry’s first 3nm SoC is positive, and the expansion of SoC adoption models by major trading partners is expected in the second half of the year.
Samsung first started making 3nm chips a while back, but the Exynos W1000 was the first chip based on the process to make it into a Galaxy product.
No Android phones have been released so far with a 3nm chipset, while Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro series uses a new chip made on TSMC’s 3nm process. Google is also rumored to be adopting a 3nm process for next year’s TSMC-made Tensor G5, while Qualcomm and MediaTek are also both likely to adopt TSMC’s 3nm process in their respective new Snapdragon and Dimensity flagships which are due to be announced later this year.
As for the Galaxy S25 series, there are mixed rumors of what Samsung’s chip strategy will be, but this earnings call mention seems to imply that Samsung plans to use the Exynos 2500 in some capacity in its next release.
Exynos W1000 chip detailed at Galaxy Watch 7 launch
A head of the Galaxy Watch 7 series launch last July 10, 2024, Samsung has detailed the Exynos W1000 chip that will power the upcoming wearables.
As is customary, the new wearables have been substantially leaked ahead of the late-2024 Unpacked launch event. We know that the Exynos W1000 chip is going to be at the heart of the Wear OS-powered smartwatches and could provide a substantial performance uplift over the Exynos W930 chip.
The Exynos W1000 also features a Mali-G68 MP2 GPU, which supports displays up to 960 x 540 pixels. With the Samsung Galaxy Wathc 7 Ultra potentially packing a large screen, this is the perfect SoC to power the show. Fan-Out Panel Level Packaging (FO-PLP) is being used here to help improve heat management and heat dissipation despite the tiny size of the W1000 in wearable devices.
Samsung also notes that the latest wearble chip supports 2.5D Always-on Display for higher-detail in on-device watch faces and improved colors. All the other good connectivity features like Bluetooth LE, 4G LTE, Wi-FI b/g/n, GPS, and NFC for wireless payments are packed in here too. 32GB of integrated eMMC storage is integrated on to the chip – which aligns with leaked specs from the Galaxy Watch 7 series.
Throw in numerous efficiency improvements and the Exynos W1000 could be the perfect base for flagship-level wearable software experiences.
