This year's make-or-break product for Samsung Electronics' System LSI business, the mobile application processor (AP) Exynos 2600, has improved enough to approach the performance of U.S. rival Qualcomm, but it still lagged in power efficiency. As a result, Samsung Electronics' System LSI business faces the task of design optimization, including heat control.
According to the industry on the 31st, tests under the same conditions comparing Samsung Electronics' latest mobile chip, the Exynos 2600, with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation found a battery life gap of as much as 28%. While other performance metrics are competitive between the two chips, analysts said power efficiency has yet to be overcome.
In an initial performance test of the Galaxy S26 released by an overseas IT outlet recently, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation model posted a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 3,670 and a multi-core score of 1,981, while the Exynos 2600 model recorded 3,105 single-core and 1,444 multi-core. That means Snapdragon led by about 18% in single-core and about 5% in multi-core.
Other tests showed the gap narrowing somewhat. In a separate comparison, the Exynos 2600 scored 3,197 in single-core and 11,012 in multi-core, bringing it to a level similar to the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation, which came in around 10,900 in multi-core. In another set of measurements compiled by IT outlet Tom's Guide, the Exynos 2600 model posted 11,065 in multi-core versus 10,778 for the Snapdragon model, indicating that in some tests Exynos led in multi-core. However, Snapdragon generally maintained an advantage in single-core.
The Samsung Electronics Exynos series was once one of the main APs serving as the "brain" of Samsung's Galaxy lineup, but in recent years it lost ground to Qualcomm and failed to supply chips. The previous Exynos 2500, expected to be a springboard for a rebound, ultimately fell short of expectations, but the Exynos 2600 drew industry attention by applying Samsung Electronics' Foundry Division's latest 2-nanometer process.
The issue is power efficiency. In the smartphone AP market, power efficiency means more than a simple metric. Even at the same performance level, higher power draw increases heat and inevitably speeds up battery drain. While momentary benchmark scores may be high, in actual use there is a greater chance that sustained performance will drop during gaming, video editing, and running artificial intelligence (AI) features.
Industry watchers cite design direction as a factor behind the power efficiency gap between Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm chips. The interpretation is that the Exynos 2600 took an aggressive approach to core configuration and operation strategy to boost multi-core performance. Prioritizing a performance-centric design over a low-power structure is advantageous for improving benchmark scores, but it also increases the likelihood of higher power consumption.
Samsung Electronics' 2-nanometer process is also seen as an area where expectations and reality diverged. While the advanced node was expected to improve power efficiency and performance, test results disclosed so far suggest the process has yet to fully mature. There appears to be room for improvement in comprehensive tuning, including voltage, clock, and heat control.
A semiconductor industry official said, "It is certainly positive that Samsung Electronics has secured chip performance capable of competing with Qualcomm, but if the power efficiency disadvantage continues, real-world evaluations will inevitably be limited," adding, "This is also why the industry pays closer attention to heat generation, battery life, and sustained performance during prolonged operation in actual products than to benchmark scores."