There have been huge discussions on the topic of “Snapdragon vs Exynos” from a long time back, and it’s very hard to define a clear-cut winner out of any favoritism between the two. So here in this article, we try to do a fair comparison on the basis of certain important parameters which definitely help most of us to make our choice out of these two.
Little about Samsung Exynos & Qualcomm Snapdragon
Exynos processors are being manufactured in-house by Samsung, which is basically for their own Samsung smartphones, with a few exceptions. Qualcomm is manufacturing Snapdragon SoCs for use in third-party mobile devices.
It is also very clear that the majority of smartphone manufacturers are using Snapdragon as the leading SoC for their devices.
Before going into depth-first would like to clear the myth that “Qualcomm and Samsung manufacture their own SoCs.” While it is true that Samsung makes its own SoCs, Qualcomm gives the designs to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) to do the fabrication process.
Let’s take a closer look:
Now we are going deep to make the classification among these two more healthy.
Processor
Since by the time Samsung abandon Mongoose core (lagged in terms of performance) and associated with the ARM CxC project (for its flagship SoCs), of which Qualcomm is also a beneficiary. So talking about Cortex X1 then both Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100 use it with little customization,
Coming to the main difference Snapdragon chips are Quadcore while Exynos usually have Octacore chips while Exynos has more chips Snapdragons processor are overclocked which helps him to achieve higher processing speed than Exynos, So overall processing power is balanced somewhere.
Effectively, the current generation of Exynos and Qualcomm flagship processors have various similarities since they are based on identical microarchitecture. This has resulted in Exynos managing to somewhat catch up with Qualcomm in terms of CPU performance.
GPU
Exynos SoCs are packed with Mali GPU whereas Snapdragon uses powerful Adreno GPU which helps in achieving smoother graphics capabilities, as GPUs are helping graphics. So in terms of gaming and higher quality images, Snapdragon is the clear-cut winner.
Supply chain & market presence
Samsung uses the Exynos processor in the Asian market, but the SnapdragonSoC is used in Europe and North America.
There’s another reason related to the supply chain, as Samsung is among the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world by volume, and to fulfill the gap in almost every part of the world is quite difficult which is definitely the task of the chip makers.
The location distinction is due to a deal between Samsung and Qualcomm that forces Samsung to use Snapdragon in its location. So in terms of market capture both the giants have their equivalent market presence depending on the location.
Costing and Profit margin
As we noticed that Samsung uses two different processors in its flagship and the reason why Samsung does this and uses its own SoCs is that the company gets the overall profit as Qualcomm has a good presence in the market.
Another reason is it’s hard to break the monopoly to sell new processors at higher prices, Therefore to balance the overall equation it’s profitable to sell the device fitted with Exynos which will give higher profitability.
Things at glance
Basically, Exynos is better for everyday use as it provides faster app loading time. For users who use their smartphone for calling, browsing, or generally using light apps like Instagram, and Facebook, the Exynos is the better choice. Whereas people who are into gaming and higher quality photography or use intensive apps should gravitate toward using devices with Snapdragon SoCs.
Note: The Foldable Galaxy A series is tipped to be launched by 2024-2025 probably using its Exynos SoCs. Though these are just predictions So stay tuned for more tech-related news.