The recent rumors that Samsung won't be using neither a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset, nor an Exynos 2500 processor in some of its Galaxy S25 series phones raised some eyebrows.
After all, if Samsung doesn't use its own homebrew Exynos chipset line, or the best mobile SoC that will be available around, what else is left? Well, the one that some of the largest phone makers will now be using in order to cut costs and escape from the iron grip of Qualcomm's overly expensive mobile chipsets.
Yes, we are talking about MediaTek's Dimensity 9400 processor that will be powering upcoming flagships like the Oppo Find X8 series. It's kind of placing a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor that now costs north of $200, open decided to go with the no less powerful and power sipping flagship Dimensity chip which, however, costs less than $150 apiece.
Reportedly, Samsung has also gotten in on the scheme to save on production costs, and wanted to pursue a contract with MediaTek about its latest Dimensity series of chipsets seeing how well they perform in benchmarks while keeping the power consumption and clock frequency throttling in check.
Initially, Samsung was negotiating to place a MediaTek chip in all the phones in the Galaxy S25 series. According to one leakster, however, it has since given up on the idea, and only the midrange Galaxy S25 FE will carry a Dimensity processor next year.
[Exclusive] The negotiations between Samsung and MediaTek, which initially aimed to include the Dimensity chip in the Galaxy S25, have shifted to placing the Dimensity chip in the S25 FE instead. The S25 will exclusively use Snapdragon chips.
It is not very easy to escape Qualcomm's grip on the mobile chipset market, though, especially in the US, and that is why Samsung may have given up on the thought to replace it for the whole S25 series.
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Not only does Qualcomm offer the best integrated 5G modem solution around, but its early Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 benchmarks also show that it has caught up with Apple's A-series of chipsets and even surpassed it in the graphics department.
Ditto for the MediaTek Dimensity 9400, though, which recently put the A18 Pro chipset of Apple to shame in the Genshin Impact gaming test. Samsung, however, may need more time to design its S-series phones around the Dimensity line which uses a different processor core architecture, and the S25, S25+, or S25 Ultra, won't be it.
The Dimensity 9400 packs a fast Arm Cortex-X925 core that clocks in at over 3.62GHz, alongside three Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores. MediaTek claims this setup delivers 35% faster single-core performance and 28% faster multicore performance compared to the Dimensity 9300. Thanks to TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, the Dimensity 9400 is also up to 40% more power-efficient, which means it can significantly boost battery life.
Dimensity 9400 specs and features. | Image credit – MediaTek
In the Dimensity 9400, Apple's A18 chipset has met another match that not only debuts the highest multicore score, but also excels in gaming benchmarks. Moreover, the newest 3nm process is what the Snapdragon for Galaxy S25 or the Apple A18 Pro use as well, while Dimensity 9400 sports a powerful Immortalis-G925 GPU with 40% faster peak and ray tracing performance than its previous edition.
Given that Qualcomm asks north of $200 just for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 alone, making it the most expensive flagship phone component, phone makers are increasingly turning to MediaTek for help with production costs as the Dimensity 9400 is reportedly priced at "just" $150.
Alternatively, TSMC might not be capable of supplying so many Dimensity chips that late in the S25 series production plans, so Samsung will have to make do with the more expensive Snapdragon processor again. It would be interesting to follow this chipset saga and see how the Galaxy S25 FE with Dimensity silicon will stack up against its Snapdragon-laden siblings.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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