Samsung unveiled the Exynos 2200, its first smartphone processor with AMD graphics. Specifically, the chip uses AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture which enables variable rate shading and hardware acceleration. laser trace, a technique used to make lighting effects in virtual environments more realistic.
Although it has not been confirmed, we assume that the SoC will be featured in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S22 bundle which will be revealed during the Unpacked event (which is announced for February 8). However, Samsung generally reserves its in-house Exynos chips for international markets and looks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips for US models. Based on the latest rumors, US versions of the Galaxy S22 will likely run on the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
The Exynos 2200 uses what AMD calls an “Xclipse” GPU and is based on Samsung’s 4-nanometer processing node. We’ve known since 2019 that the two chipmaking behemoths would be working together, and last year AMD confirmed that Samsung’s “next flagship mobile SoC” would use RDNA 2, the platform from AMD’s latest. mobile and Desktop GPUs.
The term “flagship” here is notable in that it suggests the processor will indeed make its way to Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S series phones when they presumably arrive next month. What neither company has yet wanted to share are the performance numbers, although Samsung will likely highlight them during the Galaxy reveal. So far, the company is only claiming that the chip will enable “the ultimate mobile gaming experience”.
“The AMD RDNA 2 graphics architecture extends advanced, power-efficient graphics solutions to PCs, laptops, consoles, automobiles and now mobile phones. Samsung’s Xclipse GPU is the first result of several planned generations of AMD RDNA graphics in Exynos SoCs,” said David Wang, senior vice president of Radeon Technologies Group at AMD.
Moving on to the processor, the Exynos 2200 will use Arm’s latest Armv9 processor cores in a tri-cluster configuration consisting of a single Arm Cortex-X2 “flagship core”, three large balanced Cortex-A710 cores and four Cortex -A510 energy efficient. small nuclei.
According to Samsung, the chip features more advanced AI, an improved neural processing unit (NPU) that delivers twice the performance of its predecessor, and an image signal processor that supports up to 200 megapixels. , 4K HDR (or 8K video recording), and the ability to connect to seven individual image sensors and drive four simultaneously.
We are curious to see what benefits the new graphics bring and whether these performance gains and features will be supported in mobile games. Interestingly, Samsung claims that the Xclipse GPU is “positioned between the console and the mobile GPU”, so it looks like the company wants to blur the lines by delivering home gaming performance on mobile hardware.