Contrary to previous rumors, it looks like the RDNA 2 graphics processor on Samsung’s Exynos 2200 SoC isn’t performing quite as well as expected. In fact, according to Ice Universe (well-reputed source on Samsung hardware), the RDNA 2 GPU on the Exynos 2200 even falls short of the Mali GPU on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000. Furthermore, Apple’s A15 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 have GPUs much faster than the RDNA 2 implementation on Samsung’s Exynos 2200. Samsung’s official Twitter account has deleted its tweet announcing the 11th January launch (which means the Exy 2200 has been delayed).
Samsung’s previous Exynos designs have repeatedly lost to rival Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC both in terms of performance as well as efficiency. While much of this boils down to the less-than-impressive nodes the Korean chipmaker has to offer, part of the blame also falls to the IC design side.
Considering the leaks we’ve seen in the past, it’d be safe to say that they were high-power or actively cooled SoCs that can’t be used for retail without significantly nerfing the power or clocks, most likely both. This has been indicated by multiple sources, but none highlighted such a drastic drop in performance. It could also have to do with Samsung enforcing its own power profiles on AMD’s graphics IP, something the chipmaker had already warned against.
Either way, it means that the Exynos 2200 powered devices will be pushed to the second quarter of the year, with future designs potentially in jeopardy. We’ll update this post as the story develops.
