Samsung Forms Dedicated Application Processor Team, Could Be Planning New Processor: Report

Samsung’s Mobile Experience (MX) business has reportedly formed an internal application processor (AP) solution development team. According to a recent report, the AP solution development team could be led by Executive Vice President Choi Won-joon, widely acclaimed as a wireless expert, who worked at Qualcomm till 2016 before joining Samsung. He had recently also been named as head of the South Korean conglomerate’s MX Development business during the company’s annual reorganisation event. The Application Processor is a system on a chip (SoC) that forms the core or heart of a smartphone’s functioning.

According to the report by TheElec, the move may be an indication that Samsung’s MX Business intends to optimise the existing Exynos chips, built by a similarly dedicated AP team within Samsung System LSI, that are used for the Galaxy smartphones and built by a similarly dedicated AP team within Samsung System LSI. The move could also have been planned for the MX business to build its own new processor, added the report.

Samsung’s MX business currently utilises suppliers from the likes of Qualcomm, Mediatek, and the Samsung System LSI.

However, the South Korean conglomerate has faced a bit of flak regarding performance issues on the Galaxy S22 that are being linked to the Exynos SoC under its hood, added the report. Samsung has also decided to use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC on its upcoming flagship Galaxy S23 series.

Qualcomm and Samsung had recently entered into a multi-year agreement that would allow future premium global Samsung Galaxy products to be equipped with Snapdragon chipsets. The agreement also encompasses PCs, tablets, and extended reality, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies and devices. It also includes provisions made for future 6G technologies.

In regards to Samsung’s own chipset, there have been rumours suggesting that the South Korean company may be set to deliver its first exclusive custom chipset through a forthcoming Galaxy S series by 2025, added the report.