Samsung’s Exynos is losing market share with no end in sight

The Exynos chipset is primarily used in Samsung's own smartphones. Its share in the global AP SoC market is bound to decline if the chipset misses out on key Galaxy phones. That's already happened this year as the Exynos 2500 was overlooked in favor of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for the Galaxy S25 series.

It's a recurring problem. Samsung's decision to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 globally in the Galaxy S24 Ultra last year, the best-selling model of the lineup, also contributed to the drop in market share for Q4 2024. Unfortunately, things aren't expected to get better in the near future.

Exynos may not make a meaningful recovery in 2026

A report from Counterpoint Research highlights that Samsung's Exynos had a 21% share in the global AP SoC market in Q4 2024, down from 25% the previous quarter. The market share has remained flat when compared to Q4 2023.

Many of Samsung's mid-range and affordable premium devices do use Exynos chips, and that has helped prevent a rapid decline. Higher shipments for the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A16, which use the Exynos 1480 and 1330, helped. The Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24 FE also played a part.

Even as Qualcomm's share declined sequentially, its revenues got a major boost due to Samsung opting for the Snapdragon 8 Elite across the entire Galaxy S25 lineup. Samsung initially wanted to use the Exynos 2500 for this series and there was enough evidence that it would. However, yield issues at Samsung Foundry meant that they couldn't produce as many chips as the mobile division required, as the Galaxy S series typically sells upwards of 25 million units.

Samsung is now expected to use the Exynos 2500 in the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, but the Exynos market share may not recover in any significant manner next year. Despite Samsung doubling down on the Exynos 2600 with additional resources, there's still a possibility that it may have to use Qualcomm's next flagship chip for the Galaxy S26 series due in 2026.

Exynos chips are only manufactured at Samsung Foundry and unless that division is able to get its act together, Exynos may continue to lag behind its rivals in the global market.

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