Samsung may have its own answer to Apple Silicon coming, and it could unveil a new range of Exynos-powered laptops at the next Galaxy Unpacked event. An event that’s now scheduled for April 28.
That’s according to ZDNet Korea, which claims Samsung’s upcoming machine will combine AMD graphics technology with a tentatively-named ‘Exynos 2200’ chipset. That laptop will then reportedly go on sale later this year.
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Several companies have designed machines with processors that weren’t made by Intel or AMD in recent years, including Samsung. But those machines run on Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, so this would be the first time a modern Windows laptop would launch with chips made by the same manufacturer.
Microsoft's Surface Pro X uses a Microsoft SQ1 or SQ2 processor, but these are made in partnership with Qualcomm.
After the success Apple has had with its M1 chip, it’s not difficult to see why other companies might want to jump on this bandwagon. Unfortunately, Qualcomm has effectively cornered the ARM chip market for Windows, and there are still some lingering app compatibility issues to be worried about.
Samsung has been developing Exynos chips for the last decade. So, like Apple, it’s in the perfect position to launch a new laptop featuring a processor that has been made in house. AMD would be handling the graphical duties, according to ZDNet Korea’s source, but it should still give the company a lot more control over the laptop’s performance.
Of course, not every company is going to be able to replicate the success of Apple Silicon right off the bat. The Exynos 2200 may be a game-changer for Samsung laptops, or it could still end up having similar performance and compatibility problems as comparable Qualcomm chipsets.
Whatever happens, more variety in the chip market can only be a good thing, especially with Apple taking the lead the way it has. With all the incredible gains the M1 chip offers compared to Intel-based processors. Not only did the MacBook Pro M1 and MacBook Air M1 beat most Windows PCs in benchmarking tests, our own testing showed a massive gain in battery life.
Other laptop makers have a lot of catching up to do, but remains to be seen if Samsung can go toe-to-toe with Apple Silicon.
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