What you need to know
- Samsung confirms the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra shipping with Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chips worldwide.
- Samsung and Qualcomm collaborate to make a customized Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that can handle Galaxy AI and Gemini assistant features better on Galaxy S25 phones.
- It brings in the latest connectivity features alongside improvements to display and energy efficiency.
Samsung’s new year has just begun as it launches the Galaxy S25 series today globally. They bring some exclusive features that set them apart from the best Android phones out there, and the most notable one happens to be the SoC — the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.
Samsung confirms all Galaxy S25 models across all regions come with the “Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy” SoC. The approach is similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which came with "Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy" across all regions. While the other two siblings came with an Exynos processor in some regions. It doesn’t appear to be the case this time as all models across all regions equip the already proven powerful processor — in fact, a tad bit advanced version of it.
Samsung notes that the new Snapdragon 8 Elite happens to be the fastest mobile SoC, which is based on Geekbench 6.2 MT, Geekbench 6.2 ST, Speedometer, and Antutu CPU.
Qualcomm and Samsung seem to have worked together for the SoC to “deliver premium image quality and power consumption on a Galaxy smartphone display.” With the new chip, the Galaxy S25 users can also expect better low-light video capture capabilities even in 8K, next to making the devices power-efficient as well.
The companies’ collaboration also means the chipset is utilized for all the latest Gemini experiences alongside managing tasks between apps, live-streaming from the Gemini app, and utilizing Gemini as a writing assistant — all these experiences are promised to run seamlessly on the Galaxy S25 series. Samsung also notes that the SoC is customized to deliver better Galaxy AI, mobile gaming, and connectivity as well.
It supports 5G by utilizing the Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System next to Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800 mobile connectivity system for faster cellular and Wi-Fi 7 speeds. The Galaxy S25 series also marks the first commercial phone to incorporate Snapdragon Satellite, which allows users to send and receive messages via satellite (narrowband NTN).
"The collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and Samsung has always been about pushing the boundaries of what's possible. With the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, we are not just enhancing performance; we are redefining the user experience by integrating cutting-edge on-device AI and connectivity features that will shape the future of mobile technology,” said O.H. Kwon, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm APAC.
All in all, the new chipset on paper showcases some notable benefits over the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powered notable premium handsets like the OnePlus 13. The exclusivity for Samsung should likely make the Galaxy S25 series already ahead of the competition.
