Samsung May Be Ditching ARM and AMD for Fully Custom Chips

Have you ever felt like the Samsung cellphone you are using is as hot as a frying pan? Or does the battery run out faster than the latest gossip on social media? For years, the performance of Exynos chipsets, especially in the flagship segment, has been the subject of hot debate among technology enthusiasts. Now, a new wave of rumors indicates Samsung may be taking its boldest step in the past decade: returning too the path of fully independent chip design.

The background is full of twists and turns. After the “Mongoose” project-Samsung’s attempt at creating a custom CPU-failed to live up to expectations and was ultimately shut down in 2020, the Korean giant chose a safer path. They relied on a standard core design from ARM for the CPU and partnered with AMD to inject RDNA graphics power into the Exynos chip. Though, this move is like renting a luxury house rather of building it yourself; You get the facilities, but full control of the foundation and renovation remains in someone else’s hands.

The latest leak from well-known tipster Smart Chip Guide on Weibo reveals that Samsung is considering building its own house from scratch. The main target is the Exynos 2800, which is predicted to launch in the next few years. If this plan is actually implemented, it will not be just a generational update, but a radical change in philosophy. Samsung will abandon the “raw materials” from ARM and AMD, then mix its own processor recipe. Is this a genius move towards self-reliance, or a dark repetition of history?

History Repeating? Bitter Lessons from the “Mongoose” era

Before we get lost in enthusiasm, it’s worth looking back. Between 2016 and 2020, a samsung team in Austin, USA, worked furiously to develop a series of custom CPU cores called “Mongoose”. The result? Chips like the Exynos 9820 and 990 are indeed capable of showing impressive benchmark numbers, even rivaling the peak performance of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. Though, in the real world, the story is different.

These chips are known to be energy-hungry and overheat easily. In everyday use, such as playing games or recording long videos, cellphones often perform thermal throttling-slowing down to avoid melting. the user experience is also disrupted. Samsung decided to bury this ambitious project.