Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme runs hot; Exynos 2700 may return

During Galaxy S27 Ultra testing Samsung found the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 exceeded temperature thresholds and began throttling under heavy sustained loads, according to industry insiders quoted by SEDaily.

The overheating problem has prompted Samsung to re-evaluate the Exynos 2700 as an alternative for the S27 Ultra. Reports say the Exynos 2700 outscored the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 in multi-core Geekbench by around 10 percent and may run cooler, a factor that has renewed internal interest in Samsung’s in-house chipset.

Insiders trace the concern to cooling and sustained performance rather than peak clock speeds. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, which has been reported as the first mobile chipset to exceed a 5GHz clock, reportedly crosses temperature limits in long heavy loads. The situation echoes earlier issues with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Multiple sources noted that Chinese manufacturers using the Elite Extreme often install larger vapor chambers than Samsung typically employs, a variable that can affect thermal behaviour across different devices.

Samsung and Qualcomm are working to resolve the thermal behaviour. Samsung reportedly gave Qualcomm until the middle of this month to deliver a fix; insiders have since told SEDaily that, as of the latest reports, no fix had been confirmed.

Production timetable and supply implications

Mass production for the Galaxy S27 series is scheduled to start at the end of the year to support a traditional February or March launch, so Samsung faces a near-term deadline for any processor decision. It is not clear whether Samsung would split production by market, offering Snapdragon-powered S27 Ultras in some regions and Exynos-powered units in others, or switch entirely to Exynos for the Ultra. Observers say a split solution is more likely because the Ultra is the best-selling S-series model and requires large chipset volumes.

An insider (machine translated) explained: “It is not that the inclusion of Qualcomm APs in the Galaxy S27 Ultra model has been finally dropped. If the overheating issue cannot be resolved, alternatives must be considered to meet the mass production schedule.”

If Qualcomm cannot resolve the thermal issues promptly, Samsung may revive the Exynos 2700 for at least some Galaxy S27 Ultra production runs.

A return of Exynos to the Ultra would be notable for Samsung LSI. The Korean market has not seen an Exynos-powered Ultra since 2021 and global Ultra models have been without Exynos since 2022. Industry coverage suggests reinstating Exynos would bring LSI prestige and additional revenue, while also reducing costs for Samsung DX because top-tier Snapdragon chips carry high prices.