The Galaxy S27 Ultra could see a major change in processor strategy after a series of leaks and a recent report raising temperature concerns about Qualcomm’s newest chip.
Galaxy S27 Ultra chip dilemma
Initial rumors indicated the Galaxy S27 Ultra would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, while the standard Galaxy S27, Galaxy S27 Plus and Galaxy S27 Pro were expected to rely on Samsung’s own Exynos chips. A South Korean report, however, says Samsung’s internal testing found the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 exceeded permissible temperature limits during resource-intensive tasks on the S27 Ultra, triggering thermal throttling and reduced sustained performance.
According to the report, Samsung tested the processor for more than a month and communicated its performance concerns to Qualcomm; the two companies were reportedly working together to find a solution. If Qualcomm cannot address the temperature issue in time, Samsung may consider using the Exynos 2700 for the Galaxy S27 Ultra to keep mass production on schedule later this year. The scenario would mark the first time in years that an S Ultra model might ship with an Exynos chip across all markets, should Samsung decide to switch.
Exynos 2700 and Snapdragon responses
The Exynos 2700 is described in leaks as a next-generation processor built on a 2nm process, with some previous leaks suggesting it could outperform the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in CPU and GPU performance, AI computing and energy efficiency. The source of those performance claims is limited to leaked results and individual tests; the article stresses that actual competitiveness must be assessed on commercial devices.
Qualcomm has directly denied the overheating reports and dismissed comparisons to the company’s past Snapdragon 810 issues. Samsung has not confirmed any change in its processor plan for the Galaxy S27 Ultra; the information remains based on leaks and an unconfirmed internal report.
