Samsung has always insisted that its flagship Exynos chipset can match the competitor from Qualcomm but the former has often left a lot to be desired. Previous iterations of its flagship Galaxy S phones made it clear that the Exynos was no match for the Snapdragon. The Galaxy S22 series was the last to feature the split as some markets got the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 while others got the Exynos 2200.
It's no secret that customers in markets where the Exynos variant has always been made available felt that they were being given the short end of the device. Samsung was basically charging them the same amount of money for a device that couldn't perform at a level similar to what it could in another part of the world.
The Exynos chipsets were always painstakingly benchmarked to show their performance relative to the Snapdragon chips. They'd often be able to achieve a higher score but that wouldn't necessarily translate into real-world performance. Samsung also found itself in a benchmark manipulation controversy that further dented fans' confidence.
There were a few fundamental issues that appeared with every iteration despite Samsung's claims of further improvements being made to Exynos chipsets. Exynos-powered Galaxy S models were never as power efficient as their Snapdragon counterparts. This meant that some customers got better battery life from the same device compared to others simply because Samsung wanted to ship its own processor.
The lack of optimization was often apparent as well. It was a bit ironic since you'd expect the Exynos chipset to provide the most optimized experience on a Samsung flagship. As evident during the Galaxy S20 Exynos 990 vs Snapdragon 865 controversy, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Thermal throttling was also a recurring issue. The Exynos variants would heat up more when put under intense load which resulted in performance throttling, thereby preventing you from extracting the best possible performance out of the flagship phone. This also contributed to the stark difference in battery life between the Exynos and Snapdragon variants.
Having primarily used Exynos variants of every Galaxy S flagship, the Galaxy S23 series unlocks a whole new world for me. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is currently my daily driver and this is perhaps the most I've ever been impressed by a flagship from this series, the Qualcomm chipset and this device feel like a match made in semiconductor heaven.
It delivers an incredibly optimized and refined experience. None of the hiccups that have irked me on Exynos variants in the past are present. Everything just feels nice and smooth. It doesn't get as hot and therefore doesn't throttle performance as often. Don't even get me started on the battery life.
We've already said in our Galaxy S23 Ultra review that it's an absolute battery champ because of the chipset. I'd struggle to get over 4 hours of Screen On Time with the Exynos variants. This beast of a device gives me more than 6 hours easily with a bit of juice still left in the tank. Keep in mind that both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra have the same 5,000mAh capacity, so this increase isn't due to a larger battery size.
Merely two weeks of using the Galaxy S23 Ultra has made me feel robbed by Samsung for years with its Exynos variants. The recurring issues were one of the reasons why I shifted to the company's foldables that have always shipped with Snapdragon chipsets only. Using this device now daily and experiencing all of the ways in which it's better than previous Exynos variants makes me disappointed that I was never able to get the best possible experience from earlier flagships.
I understand that this observation and indeed the title of this opinion comes across as a bit harsh. It's nothing but tough love for Samsung. I'm a lifelong fan of the company's products. It's just that after years of using the evidently substandard Exynos variants, the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S23 Ultra feels like a well-oiled machine and I just hope that had always been the case.
The future of Samsung's Exynos chipsets is still up in the air. There are rumors that Samsung has put together a dream team to create an entirely new flagship chipset that will be introduced with the Galaxy S24. I'm all for it but if Samsung wants to sell me an Exynos again, I just hope that it's at least as good as the Snapdragon, otherwise I won't even bother buying that new flagship.
