A recent report from South Korea claims Samsung's upcoming Exynos 2700 chipset is around 20% faster than Qualcomm's top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip in multi-core performance. It's a big claim since, historically, Exynos chips have lagged behind Snapdragon processors. So, to check whether the claim holds up, I have put together all the leaks around Exynos 2700 and analysed the CPU, GPU, packaging and leaked benchmark scores of the chip.
Exynos 2700 CPU
Just like before, the Exynos 2700 is still a 10-core chip, but Samsung has moved to a four-cluster 1+4+1+4 layout. According to SemiAnalysis, the Exynos 2700 is expected to pack an Arm C2-Ultra core clocked at 4.24GHz, 4x C2-Pro cores at 3.74GHz, an older C1-Ultra core at 3.36GHz and 4x C1-Pro cores at 2.88GHz.
Note that early reports said that there are 2x C2-Ultra cores and 8x C2-Pro cores, but it was corrected later. The revised layout also matches a Geekbench AI listing (model number S5E9975), where the prime core ran at 4.24GHz.
Basically, Samsung is mixing two generations of Arm cores this year with the Exynos 2700 chip. On the Exynos 2600 chip, it was seen that the C1-Pro cores were forced to go up to 3.25GHz for medium-heavy tasks, which was beyond their efficient range. On the Exynos 2700, the C1-Ultra core (up to 3.36GHz) can handle these medium-heavy tasks, which should help with sustained performance and battery life.
As for clock speed, the prime Arm C2-Ultra core is around 12% faster than the Exynos 2600's 3.8GHz core. Still, the Dimensity 9600 Pro processor (packs the same C2-series cores) reaches 4.55GHz and Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips hit 5.0GHz. Basically, Samsung is betting on cluster design rather than raw clock speed for CPU improvements.
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Exynos 2700 GPU, NPU and Memory
Early reports claimed the GPU for the Exynos 2700 was built in-house without AMD, but analysis of the leaked Exynos 2700 die shot suggests it's still AMD-based, likely on RDNA 5.
The Xclipse 970 GPU is expected to power the graphics performance on the Exynos 2700. It has eight Work Group Processors (WGPs) and with two compute units (CUs) in every WGP, you get a total of 16 CUs. It has the same WGP count as the Xclipse 960, so Samsung has not added more GPU cores this year.
That said, we could see graphical improvements come from memory. The older Xclipse 960 was held back by memory bandwidth rather than compute power. On the Exynos 2700 die, the WGPs take up less GPU area, which hints at a bigger L2 cache. And when paired with LPDDR6 memory, this could dramatically improve the graphics performance and remove the bottleneck.
In addition, the die shot also shows a large NPU block. There is a 24MB system-level cache and 16MB of L3 cache, which adds up to around 40MB of combined cache. Finally, UFS 5.0 storage support is a;so rumoured but it's unconfirmed. And just like the Exynos 2600, the 5G modem appears to be a separate unit.
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SF2P Node and Side-by-Side Packaging
The Exynos 2700 is built on Samsung Foundry's second-generation 2nm process node called SF2P. It's being said that SF2P brings 12% higher performance and 25% lower power consumption over SF2.
The bigger change is in packaging this year, just like we saw with Apple's A20 Pro chip. It's being reported that Samsung has dropped the costly FOWLP packaging and moved to a Side-by-Side (SbS) design. In this design, the DRAM sits next to the chip instead of being stacked on top of it.
As a result, the Heat Path Block (HPB) can be installed over both the chip and the DRAM, so a larger area touches the phone's cooling system. On paper, this should help the Exynos 2700 hold its peak clock speeds for longer and deliver better sustained performance, which has been the weak point of Exynos chips for years.
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Exynos 2700 Leaked Benchmark Scores
| Geekbench Test | Single-core | Multi-core |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6.7.1 (Claimed) | 4,328 | 14,700 |
| Geekbench 6 (Claimed) | ~3,900 | – |
| Geekbench 6.5 (Claimed) | – | ~13,000 |
In the first Geekbench listing of the Exynos 2700 chip from April, it scored 2,603 points in the Geekbench 6 single-core test and 10,350 in multi-core. However, it was an engineering board and capped at 2.88GHz, so it tells us very little about final performance.
A recent Geekbench result has appeared and it looks much stronger. On a leaked Geekbench 6.7 listing, the Exynos 2700 processor reached 4,328 in single-core and a whopping 14,700 in multi-core. On the other hand, another tipster says the chip consistently hits around 3,900 points in Geekbench 6 single-core.
I think 3,900 is the more realistic figure, as reports suggest the Exynos 2700 still trails the latest Snapdragon chips in single-core.
Compared to the Exynos 2600, it makes the Exynos 2700 up to 26% faster in single-core. In multi-core, it would be around 18% to 34% higher than what Exynos 2600 manages, as seen in our Exynos 2600 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 comparison.
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Exynos 2700 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6: What Samsung's Tests Claim
Samsung has compared the two chips in two rounds of internal testing. In Samsung's internal Exynos 2700 tests from August, the Exynos 2700 reportedly scored 9.5% higher in the Geekbench 6.5 multi-core test.
In the new round, Samsung tested the Exynos 2700 in China against the retail Xiaomi 18 Pro Max and the Xiaomi 18 Pro, which runs the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip. Here are the results.
| Test | vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 (Claimed) |
|---|---|
| Geekbench 6.5 multi-core | 20% higher |
| Geekbench 7 multi-core | 15% higher |
| GPU in high-end graphics workload | 20% higher |
| GPU in general 3D games | 5% higher |
| Llama 3.1 8B response generation | 18% faster |
| Current draw in simulated daily use | 161mA vs 185mA |
These numbers look impressive, but these are from Samsung's own internal testing. I would suggest users wait for independent testing. You can read our report on the latest Exynos 2700 benchmark leak for more details.
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Which Galaxy S27 Phones Will Get the Exynos 2700?
Samsung began mass production of the Exynos 2700 chip in October with 10% higher volume than the Exynos 2600. According to reports, the Galaxy S27, S27+ and S27 Pro will use it in South Korea, Europe and most other markets. However, the US and China will get the latest Snapdragon chips.
For Indian buyers, the Exynos 2700 is the chip you are most likely to get. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ in India shipped with the Exynos 2600 and a new report says the Galaxy S27 Pro could skip the Snapdragon chip in India too.
As for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, it's unclear right now. It was reported that Ultra prototypes with the Snapdragon chip ran hotter than Samsung's limits. We have detailed in our report on the Galaxy S27 Ultra Snapdragon overheating issue. Qualcomm denied it and the latest reports say the Ultra model will stay on Snapdragon globally, including India.
Exynos 2700 Specs (Rumoured)
| Specs | Exynos 2700 (Rumoured) |
|---|---|
| Model Number | S5E9975 (codename "Ulysses") |
| Process Node | Samsung Foundry 2nm GAA (SF2P) |
| CPU | 10-core CPU (1+4+1+4), Arm C2 and C1 cores |
| CPU Cores | 1x C2-Ultra (4.24GHz), 4x C2-Pro (3.74GHz), 1x C1-Ultra (3.36GHz), 4x C1-Pro (2.88GHz) |
| GPU | Xclipse 970, 8 WGPs (16 CUs), AMD-based |
| NPU | Large next-generation NPU |
| Cache | 24MB system-level cache, 16MB L3 cache, 40MB combined |
| Storage and Memory | LPDDR6 memory, UFS 5.0 storage (rumoured) |
| Modem | Separate Exynos 5G modem (discrete) |
While the chip has not been released, the Exynos 2700 looks like the most balanced Exynos chip in years. The improvements are structural rather than just chasing higher clock speeds. The next-gen 2nm node and the side-by-side packaging tackles heat, which has been a major concern on past Exynos chips. In addition, LPDDR6 memory could free the GPU from its bandwidth bottleneck.
That said, I am not sure about the 20% headline improvement. Qualcomm's reference device with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 achieves 12,954 to 13,056 points in Geekbench 6.5 multi-core, as covered in our Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 benchmark.
Reference devices use ideal cooling, which inflates scores. So, whatever number Samsung puts out, take those figures with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the efficiency claims are more interesting. Samsung says the Exynos 2700 consumes 13% lower current in daily use and has a 22% GPU lead at 2.5W.
All in all, the Exynos 2700 looks competitive and it's not going to lag far behind the latest Snapdragon, Dimensity and Apple A-series chips. If you are buying the Galaxy S27, S27+ or S27 Pro in India next year, it's very likely what you will get. Still, I would wait for our sustained performance and battery tests once the Galaxy S27 series launches in February 2027.
