Galaxy Note 20 Processor Choice In Korea Might Cause Another Scandal

For years, Samsung has been using a two-processor strategy for its high-end flagships, launching with a Qualcomm Snapdragon in the US and China while other markets get Samsung's own Exynos chip. It changed its tune earlier this year and even went with the Snapdragon 865 for Galaxy S20 phones sold in its own hometown. That caused quite a ruckus even within Samsung's own ranks and it seems that history will repeat itself next month when the Galaxy Note 20 launches with the Snapdragon 865+ in Korea, too.

Although not exactly that noticeable a long time ago, the gap between Snapdragon and Exynos has become more pronounced lately, especially between the Snapdragon 865 and the Exynos 990. In addition to raw performance, the Snapdragon has been benchmarked with better 5G scores, enough to convince Samsung's mobile division to decide it was the better chip for South Korea.

On the one hand, it made business sense for Samsung to put its best foot forward in its home town. On the other hand, it was reportedly an unexpected decision and a slap in the face for Samsung's own silicon business that was already being hit by criticism and negative reviews. Unfortunately, it seems that the narrative still hasn't changed but, this time, they probably won't be caught unaware.

A report from local media claims that, once again, Samsung will go with a Snapdragon SoC for the Galaxy Note 20 in South Korea. This time, however, the gap might be even wider as it will be a slightly higher Snapdragon 865 Plus in contrast to the same Exynos 990. There were rumors of an Exynos 992 to match Qualcomm's "half-step" but that never came to pass.

That said, buyers in South Korea probably won't complain since they will be getting what is considered the better processor. Other markets, like Europe and parts of Asia, are still out of luck as they will have to settle for that same Exynos 990 inside a totally new phone.