Samsung unveils Exynos 2500 before Unpacked, just in time for the Z Flip 7?

Just weeks before Samsung’s big July Unpacked show, the company has gone and quietly revealed its next-gen mobile brain – the Exynos 2500. No flashy keynote, no thunderous applause, just a low-key listing and a message that says, “it’s go time”.

Given Exynos chips’ reputation problems, and rumours indicating that the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip7 could be powered by it, Samsung needs to flip the script with the performance of its new-gen silicon. Here’s everything you need to know about the Exynos 2500.

Samsung Exynos 2500 chipset enters mass production

The Exynos 2500 is the heir to last year’s Exynos 2400, and it is now officially in mass production. It’s built on Samsung’s ambitious 3nm GAA process, making it one of the most advanced chips out there, on paper, at least.

And the timing of the launch is suspiciously perfect. Especially if you’ve been following rumours that the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Samsung’s next flip phone headliner, might be ditching Qualcomm’s Snapdragon entirely for this new slice of Exynos muscle.

The Exynos 2500 comes armed with a beastly 10-core CPU, led by the Cortex-X5 (aka Cortex-X925) clocked at 3.3GHz, paired with Cortex-A725 and A520 cores. There’s also the Xclipse 950 GPU, ready to push 4K 120Hz displays and deliver hardware-based ray tracing.

Support for 320MP cameras, 8K video, LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 4.0 storage round out the spec sheet. Connectivity is no slouch either. The Exynos 5400 modem offers mmWave 5G, satellite support, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and download speeds up to 12.1Gbps.

Add to that Samsung’s new NPU with 59 TOPS (trillion operations per second); a 39 per cent jump over the last-gen chip, and it’s clear the Exynos 2500 is designed to flex serious AI muscle, not just raw performance.

ALSO READ: Next Samsung flip phone may feature Exynos chip, Android 16

But here’s where the issue lies – Exynos chips have a reputation problem. Over the years, they’ve been criticised for thermal throttling, lower efficiency, and performance gaps compared to Snapdragon counterparts. That’s why Samsung’s potential decision to use the Exynos 2500 globally in the Z Flip 7 is such a big deal. It’s a serious comeback bid.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to debut with a slightly larger 6.85-inch main display, an upgraded 4-inch cover screen, a 50MP primary camera, and a 4,000mAh battery. While the camera hardware may not change dramatically, the internals could see a major leap. If the Flip 7 ships with the Exynos 2500, we’re looking at possible gains in battery life, and on-device AI features.

Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed which devices will feature the Exynos 2500 just yet. But with the Z Flip 7’s curtain call just around the corner, the answer won’t be far off. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma to get regular updates on all things tech.