Samsung concerned about chip performance

Samsung is reportedly unhappy with Qualcomm's new high-end chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Extreme, according to a report by Seoul Economic Daily on October 16. During tests of the Galaxy S27 Ultra, the chip allegedly exceeded temperature limits set by Samsung and performed poorly under heavy use.

Samsung seeks fixes or alternatives

The newspaper reported that Samsung requested Qualcomm to resolve the issue by mid-October, warning that if no solution was found, the next Ultra model might switch to Samsung’s own Exynos 2700 chip. This would be the first Ultra model with an Exynos chip since the Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2022.

Qualcomm denies the claims

Qualcomm responded quickly, with Don McGuire, the company’s marketing director, stating on X that the reports were “100% inaccurate.” A spokesperson later told 9to5Google that recent articles about thermal issues with the chip are “inaccurate” and that Qualcomm is “proud” of its new platform.

Clarification on chip versions

McGuire’s denial included a note that there is “no systemic thermal issue” on the standard “8 Elite Gen 6” chip, while the accusations focus on the Extreme version. The two chips share the same architecture, but the Extreme version pushes the GPU and memory performance further than the base model.

Manufacturer settings under scrutiny

The spokesperson mentioned the Extreme version, and McGuire suggested that overheating issues could stem from Samsung’s settings rather than the chip itself. Similar issues have been observed with Xiaomi, which continues to optimize its Xiaomi 18 Pro Max with software updates.

Unconfirmed claims and user reports

Seoul Economic Daily’s report relies on unnamed industry sources and does not provide specific temperature measurements or benchmark data. However, Gizmochina reported that some Chinese users experienced crashes, black screens, and restarts on devices with the chip, which could be due to software issues with voltage adjustments. McGuire previously dismissed these reports as “pure lies.”

Samsung tests Exynos alternative

Samsung has not officially confirmed the issues but is reportedly testing a Galaxy S27 Ultra equipped with the Exynos 2700, which has better cooling. The report suggests Samsung was expected to decide on its chip by mid-October, with mass production planned for the end of the year and the Galaxy S27 Ultra launch scheduled for early 2027.