Qualcomm Faces Heating Setback in Galaxy S27

Qualcomm’s next-generation mobile processor (AP), the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation. (Photo courtesy of Qualcomm) A massive tectonic shift is brewing in the mobile application processor (AP) camp surrounding Samsung Electronics’ next-generation flagship smartphone, the ‘Galaxy S27 Ultra.’ With Qualcomm, the core chip supplier for the top-tier model slated for unveiling early next year, facing severe heating issues with its next-generation AP, the possibility of Samsung Electronics bringing in its in-house developed ‘Exynos 2700’ as a relief pitcher is rapidly emerging. Amidst the complex interests of hardware performance limitations and supply chain diversification, the industry’s attention is focused on the ripple effects this situation will have on the global mobile semiconductor market. Qualcomm’s setback: The heating barrier of ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation’ The Mobile eXperience (MX) Business under Samsung Electronics’ Device eXperience (DX) Division is currently conducting high-intensity performance verification on Qualcomm’s next-generation top-tier AP, the ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme (EE) 6th Generation’, aiming for its installation in the Galaxy S27 Ultra. However, a fatal flaw has surfaced during this process. According to multiple industry insiders, recent tests revealed that the chip’s temperature repeatedly exceeded the permissible threshold, and a phenomenon where processing speed sharply dropped during sustained high-load tasks was frequently captured. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation is a top-tier lineup ambitiously introduced by Qualcomm to maximize ‘agentic artificial intelligence (AI)’ performance, which recognizes the user’s situation in real time on a smartphone and executes complex commands autonomously. However, as the integration density of mobile devices has reached its limit, it is analyzed that the physical limitation of heating issues could not be completely controlled while forcibly attempting to process highly advanced AI computations. Samsung Electronics already officially notified Qualcomm of these heating issues last month and strongly demanded that fundamental improvements be completed by the middle of this month. However, it is reported that Qualcomm has not yet secured the strict level of heating stability required by Samsung Electronics. If the AP becomes excessively hot inside the smartphone device, a ‘throttling’ phenomenon occurs, which forcibly lowers operating performance to protect the device itself. This is a factor that severely degrades the user experience when enjoying mobile games for a long time or performing high-performance on-device AI tasks. If the heating issue is not dramatically resolved within this month, a revision to the original plan of installing Qualcomm chips in the Galaxy S27 Ultra is inevitable. Samsung’s ‘Exynos 2700’ and 2-Nanometer Process Emerging as the 'Relief Pitcher' In the event that Qualcomm fails to meet the required performance within the deadline, the sole and powerful alternative that Samsung Electronics can draw upon is its in-house developed next-generation AP, the ‘Exynos 2700.' The Exynos 2700 is an innovative chip designed by Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business and produced based on the Foundry Business’s cutting-edge second-generation 2-nanometer (nm, 1 billionth of a meter) process, ‘SF2P.’ It was developed with a focus on maximizing computational performance while significantly boosting power efficiency compared to its predecessor. In recent closed-door internal tests, it reportedly shattered concerns by recording performance that exceeded Qualcomm’s competing chip, heightening internal expectations to the fullest. If the Exynos 2700 is released next year carrying the banner of the Galaxy S27 Ultra, this will hold great symbolic meaning in the history of mobile semiconductors beyond a simple component replacement. Samsung Electronics installed the ‘Exynos 2100’ in the Galaxy S21 Ultra released domestically in 2021, but tasted a bitter failure as it suffered from intense controversy over severe heating and performance degradation at the time. Subsequently, the ‘Exynos 2200’ of the S22 Ultra introduced to the European market in 2022 also failed to avoid harsh criticism. Ultimately, starting with the S23 Ultra released in 2023, the company exclusively adopted Qualcomm APs for its entire volume, wounding its pride in its in-house chips. Since then, the Exynos series has been restrictively adopted only in some standard and Plus models (such as the Galaxy S24 and S26 series), and has been thoroughly excluded from the ‘Ultra’ lineup. If the Exynos 2700 makes a spectacular comeback to the Ultra model this time, it could serve as a decisive turning point to wash away the ‘humiliation’ that has continued over the past 5 years and prove its in-house semiconductor competitiveness to the world. The Ripple Effect on Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor ‘Triangular Formation’ The sudden adoption of the Exynos 2700 in the Ultra model is expected to act as a favorable factor that will strongly breathe life into Samsung Electronics’ overall sluggish semiconductor business. First, the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business will secure the financial leeway to significantly reduce the external AP purchase costs that soar every year. In fact, Samsung Electronics poured a massive sum of a whopping 7.4383 trillion won (about $5.5888 billion) into mobile AP purchases in the first half of this year alone. It is a golden opportunity to enhance cost competitiveness while simultaneously lowering dependence on Qualcomm. This is also welcome news like sweet rain during a drought for the Foundry Business and the System LSI Business. The System LSI Business can improve profitability by significantly expanding the supply volume of highly profitable in-house APs, while the Foundry Business, which has struggled to secure yields for cutting-edge processes, will establish a decisive foothold to maximize the utilization rate of its second-generation 2-nanometer (SF2P) production line. For Samsung Electronics, which needs to narrow the gap with Taiwan’s TSMC in the cutting-edge foundry ecosystem, securing a track record of mass-producing 2-nanometer chips on a large scale through its own flagship smartphones becomes a more valuable asset than anything else. The mobile AP market has evolved beyond serving as the brain of a smartphone into a core battlefield that dictates the performance of on-device AI. Whether Qualcomm will dramatically patch up the heating issues of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation and adhere to the mass production schedule as planned, or whether Samsung Electronics will write a drama of a great reversal by returning the Exynos 2700 to the Ultra throne after 5 years, has now entered the countdown. An industry expert diagnosed, “The prevailing view is that it is physically too tight for Qualcomm’s heating issue to be completely resolved in a short period,” adding, “Given the nature of Samsung Electronics’ MX Business, which must consider the mass production schedule and product stability as top priorities, the pivot to the prepared alternative, the Exynos 2700, will go beyond a simple emergency measure and become a major watershed that changes the landscape of the future mobile semiconductor ecosystem.” The attention of the global semiconductor and smartphone industry is focused on the outcome that Samsung’s choice will bring.