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A new benchmark ran for a reported variant of the Galaxy S23 Ultra recently appeared online and it seemed to corroborate claims that Samsung will exclusively use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC next year. But a well-known leaker said Samsung might use a special version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for its upcoming flagship phones.
The benchmark that tested a device named Samsung SM-S918B was spotted on the Geekbench database recently. And established leaker Ice Universe said details included in the result should be noteworthy, especially to European consumers. It could be one of the early indications that European variants of Galaxy S23 phones will be powered by a Snapdragon chip.
First, it is worth noting that an earlier benchmark for a device identified as SM-S911U, believed to be the regular Galaxy S23, was also spotted last month. The suffix “U” in the model number indicates the unit tested was a U.S. variant with a “Kalama” motherboard. Since all flagship Galaxy phones being shipped to the U.S. have used Snapdragon chips for years, the “Kalama” designation likely pertains to the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
As mentioned, the more recent Geekbench test was for the Samsung SM-S918B device reportedly pertaining to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. And the suffix “B” in model numbers of Galaxy phones usually indicates that the unit is to be sold to the European market. Additionally, the benchmark for SM-S918B also shows it used the “Kalama” motherboard at the time of testing. This seems to suggest that Galaxy S23 phones to be shipped to Europe are going to include Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
For years, Samsung users have argued that the performance of Galaxy phones powered by Exynos chips had been inferior to their Snapdragon-powered counterparts. This should then be a welcome development, especially for Samsung fans in Europe. But Ice Universe said the good news does not end there because Samsung will reportedly use an exclusive “high-frequency version” of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the Galaxy S23 series.
The appearance of these Galaxy S23 benchmark results follows the report of analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said last July, “Qualcomm will likely be the sole processor supplier for Samsung Galaxy S23.” Kuo said Samsung is still expected to ship the Exynos 2300, but it might not be able to deliver a performance on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Samsung’s strategy, whether it includes using Snapdragon chips on all variants of Galaxy S23, should be revealed in a few months. The company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S23 lineup in early 2023.
