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The Galaxy S22 Ultra Exynos and Snapdragon models' performance seems nearly identical

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Feb 02, 2022, 6:47 AM

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The Galaxy S22 Ultra Exynos and Snapdragon models' performance seems nearly identical

The latest Galaxy S22 series processor leaks claim that Samsung will, in fact, ship the phones with its latest Exynos 2200 chipset in select markets, contrary to previous rumors that the processor is facing production delays and models powered by it may be launched later on in the S22 game.

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While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset that will be used by Samsung for the American market on account of Qualcomm's robust 5G modem experience and patent portfolio, the Exynos 2200 models will have their own allure, mainly on account of the fact that this will be the first mobile chipset with graphics architecture by AMD.

AMD just reported historically high earnings for both the holiday quarter and the 2021 fiscal year, so its first foray into the phone realm will be followed with bated breath by analysts and AMD fans alike.

You don't have to wait until the Galaxy S22 Ultra February release date to witness the performance score of the AMD mobile graphics subsystem, though, as its model with Exynos 2200 processor has already been benchmarked.

Galaxy S22 Ultra Exynos 2022 test

The SM-S908B model in the Geekbench 5 database is none other than the global S22 Ultra edition with the Exynos 2200 chipset, and we pitted it against the highest score of the SM-S908U version (the S22 Ultra with Snapdragon 8) that we could find there.

S22 Ultra Exynos vs Snapdragon model benchmark scores

Previous leaked Exynos 2200 vs Snapdragon 8 benchmarks had Samsung's chipset giving way a bit to the Qualcomm's, but these freshest scores directly from what we now assume would be retail Galaxy S22 Ultra units, put both processors on equal footing.

In fact, the benchmark scores of the S22 Ultra with Exynos 2200 and the one with Snapdragon 8 are nearly identical as you can see from our snapshot above, hinting that you can't go wrong with the S22 Ultra no matter which chipset Samsung releases it in your market with. If you don't take the SM-908U run with the highest score, however, the Exynos 2200 model of the S22 Ultra notches higher benchmark results than the Snapdragon 8 model on average.

We'll see what benchmark test results we will get when we get our hands on both the Exynos and Snapdragon Galaxy S22 series models very soon, and relay to you if you should be worried that Samsung is splicing its flagship chipset markets again.

Moreover, Geekbench 5 is mainly focused on the CPU performance, while we want to benchmark the graphics subsystem to see how well the mobile AMD GPU with RDNA2 architecture stands up to scrutiny against Qualcomm's more established Adreno GPUs. As a reminder, here are all the details about the Samsung Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processors in the Galaxy S22 crop.

Samsung Exynos 2200 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 specs and features

The most important new Exynos 2200 features to be found on the Galaxy S22 models:

First hardware accelerated ray tracing (RT) and variable rate shading (VRS) in a mobile chipset
Samsung Xclipse GPU based on AMD's RDNA 2
4nm Samsung EUV production method
10 Gigabit 5G modem with sub-6GHz and mmWave connectivity
4K@120Hz refresh rate display resolution support

Here's a list of the most important new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features:

X65 5G modem with 10 Gigabit download speeds.
First 18-bit image signal processor for mobile.
First 8K HDR10+ video capture for mobile.
Mega low-light capture snaps 30 images and merges the best parts into one shot.
Always-On ISP for fast face unlocking and locking.
7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine for voice analysis and Leica Leitz Look bokeh filters.
Bluetooth Low Energy audio features like broadcasting, stereo recording, and voice back-channel for gaming.
First platform with Android Ready Secure Element support, the new standard for digital car keys or drivers’ licenses.

As for how does the new Exynos 2200 stacks up against its direct Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 competitor, last year's Exynos 2100 in the S21 Ultra, and Apple's A15 monster in the iPhone 13, here's a quick comparison of their specs and features.

	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Exynos 2200	Exynos 2100	Apple A15
Production process	Samsung 4nm EUV	Samsung 4nm EUV	Samsung 5nm EUV	TSMC 5nm 2nd gen
Processor cores	1xCortex-X2@3GHz 3xCortex-A710@2.5GHz 4xCortex-A510@1.8GHz	1x Cortex-X2 3x Cortex-A710 4x Cortex-A510	Exynos X1@2.91GHz 3x Cortex-A78@2.8GHz 4x Cortex-A55@2.2GHz	2x Avalanche@3.23GHz 4x Blizzard@1.8GHz
GPU	Adreno 730, 30% faster and 20% more frugal	Ray-tracing Samsung Xclipse 920 with AMD RDNA 2 architecture	ARM Mali-G78	Apple custom quad-core (5-core on the iPhone 13 Pro models)
Modem	X65 5G modem (integrated) up to 10 Gbps over 5G Global iSIM multi-SIM card support	Samsung 5G modem (integrated) 5G downloads up to 10Gbps (mmWave), 5.1Gbps (sub-6GHz), or 3Gbps (4G LTE), 8xCA Uploads: up to 3.67 Gbps	Exynos 5123 (Category 24) Downloads up to 7.3Gbps (mmWave), 5.1Gbps (sub-6GHz), or 3Gbps (4G LTE), 8xCA Uploads: up to 422 Mbps	Qualcomm X60 5G modem
AI co-processor	7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine	FP16 NPU	Tri-core NPU, up to 26 TOPS	16-core Neural Engine, up to 15.8 TOPS
Video encode	8K HDR10+	Up to 8K decoding: 60fps with 10-bit HEVC(H.265), 30fps with 10-bit VP9, AV1 Up to 8K encoding: 30fps with 10-bit HEVC(H.265), VP9	8K HDR at 60fps 4K HDR at 120fps	4K HDR+ at 120fps
Features support	QHD+ @144Hz or 4K@60Hz display refresh Demura and subpixel rendering for OLED uniformity First 18-bit ISP, mega low light capture merges 30 images in one shot for brighter, sharper pictures Qualcomm FastConnect 6900: Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-fi 6E (up to 3.6GBps)	4K@120Hz or QHD+ @144Hz display refresh up to 200MP in single camera mode, Single-camera 108MP @30fps, Dual-camera 64MP+ 32MP @30fps Integrated Secure Element (iSE) to store private cryptographic keys AMIGO performance optimization technology	UFS 3.1 storage support for up to 2.9GB/s speeds Single-camera up to 200MP up to 16 GB DDR5 Variable 120Hz display refresh rate	Computational photography Cinematic Mode video bokeh Machine learning capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second

As you can see, Qualcomm and Samsung aren't playing around, and offer some unique 5G connectivity and other features that Apple will have to catch up with when its next generation A16 processor hits the iPhone 14 in the fall of 2022. That one is reportedly also being done on the 4nm process, but until then the Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 may stay the undisputed connectivity kings for the 5G era.

The AMD-based Xclipse 920 GPU of the Exynos 2200 doesn't shine in benchmarks compared to the Adreno 730 in Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but the ray tracing and variable rate shading support more than makes up for the synthetic scores. Moreover, it supports 4K resolution displays with up to 120Hz refresh rate, whereas the Snapdragon 8 makes do with 60Hz refresh support at that resolution only.

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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.