Samsung's Galaxy S8 could get the brand-new Exynos 9 chip, too
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 is still widely expected, but Samsung usually sells phones using one of its in-house processors as well.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are poised to snag two firsts when it comes to the processors that power everything the phones will do.
Widely rumored to be the first to use Qualcomm's promising Snapdragon 835 chip, Samsung just also teased its new house-made Exynos 9, tweeting that the chipset is coming "soon". Well, you can't get much "sooner" than the Galaxy S8, which is rumored to launch March 29.
Samsung commonly stuffs its phones with one of two processors: one supplied by Qualcomm in addition to its own Exynos model. The one you get depends on which country you live in. Exynos models often sell in Asia, for example, while the US typically gets the variation with Qualcomm's chip (Qualcomm is based in California).
One famous exception came with the Galaxy S6, which used Samsung's Exynos chip in all markets, presumably over concern that the Snapdragon 810 processor had a tendency to overheat.
Lest you think there's fierce competition at play, keep in mind that Samsung is also the foundry manufacturing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835. It's speculated that this partnership is precisely why the S8 could get Qualcomm's chip before any other phonemaker.
A separate rumor suggests that the phone will come in colors that include black, gold and orchid gray. Yet another points to Sony as a third supplier of the S8's batteries, in addition to Japan's Murata Manufacturing and Samsung SDI.
Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
