Samsung is reportedly considering an Exynos 2700-powered Galaxy S27 Ultra for its early-2027 flagship range, potentially ending four generations of Snapdragon-only Ultra models. The reported shift is tied to claims that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 has encountered thermal limits during testing, though neither Samsung nor Qualcomm has confirmed a change in the Ultra’s processor.
The claims are “inaccurate.”
Qualcomm, in a response to 9to5Google
The report says Samsung MX observed the chip repeatedly exceeding acceptable thermal limits in demanding, sustained workloads. That could trigger thermal throttling, reducing clock speeds to control temperatures and affecting sustained gaming performance and on-device AI processing. Samsung reportedly shared its results with Qualcomm in September and requested fixes by mid-October, while optimization and testing continue.
Qualcomm said it is continuing to work with phone makers on implementation of the platform, according to 9to5Google. Its response means the alleged heat problem remains disputed rather than established, and there is no confirmation that Snapdragon has been dropped from Samsung’s Galaxy S27 Ultra plans.
Samsung’s alternative would be the Exynos 2700, a chip developed by Samsung System LSI and built on Samsung Foundry’s SF2P process, the company’s second-generation 2nm node. The processor is expected to use a 10-core CPU. Previously discussed internal results suggested advantages over Qualcomm silicon in some scenarios, but those figures were preliminary and came from hardware still under development.
The wider Galaxy S27 family has already been linked with Exynos 2700 in markets including Europe and South Korea, although those reports do not establish the Ultra configuration.
- Galaxy S27
- Galaxy S27+
- Rumored Galaxy S27 Pro
An expanded Exynos role could also lower Samsung’s dependence on external chip suppliers. The company reportedly spent about KRW 13.83 trillion on mobile processors in 2025 and another KRW 7.44 trillion during the first half of 2026. Using more in-house silicon could help reduce that bill while increasing utilization of Samsung’s 2nm semiconductor production.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra was the last Ultra model to use Exynos, shipping with the Exynos 2200 in some regions in 2022; Galaxy S23 Ultra models and later Ultra generations have used Snapdragon. Mass production for the Galaxy S27 series is reportedly expected to begin toward the end of the year, with Samsung’s final Ultra chipset decision still unresolved and Snapdragon not ruled out.
