Samsung’s flagship phones generally appear in two variants, with one powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a Samsung Exynos chipset powering the other. The Qualcomm model is usually sold in the US and China, while the Exynos variant tends to launch in EMEA markets.
The company’s Exynos processors seem to have taken a turn for worse in recent years though. More recently, we tested the Exynos 990-powered Galaxy S20 against the Snapdragon 865-powered variant and found that the former lagged behind in terms of graphics performance and battery life.
It’s not all bad, as the Exynos model edged out the Qualcomm variant when it came to single-core CPU performance. But it’s clear the Snapdragon 865 on the whole is a better processor.
The gap becomes a chasm?
Earlier this year, we heard Samsung might offer an upgraded Exynos processor in the Galaxy Note 20 series, apparently called the Exynos 992. Now, word on the street is that Samsung will stick to the Exynos 990 instead.
Reports also point to Samsung potentially adopting the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor for the Qualcomm variant (although this didn’t happen with the Note 10 series). This would mean the performance gap would widen between the two models. In saying so, the Exynos 990 is still a very capable chipset and the two variants shared all the same features. From 5G and 8K video recording to 120Hz refresh rates and more, you’re not missing out on any major functionality by choosing one over the other.
With that in mind, we thought we’d ask you how you feel about Samsung potentially sticking with the Exynos 990 for the Galaxy Note 20. Choose an answer in our poll below!
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