Samsung’s 4nm Exynos 2200 features hardware-accelerated ray tracing and variable rate shading.
what you need to know
- The Exynos 2200 is officially available now, and its chipset features AMD’s RDNA 2-based Xclipse GPU.
- The GPU includes ray tracing and variable rate shading, designed to deliver “console quality” visuals on mobile devices.
- Samsung says the Exynos 2200 is in mass production, and we should see that chipset in the Galaxy S22.
Two years ago, Samsung partnered with AMD to overhaul the GPUs on its Exynos chipsets, and today we’re seeing the first realization of those efforts. The Exynos 2200 is now official, and with Samsung adopting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the chipset has a number of exciting new features.
The biggest highlight is that the Exynos 2200 is Samsung’s first chipset to feature an AMD RDNA 2-based GPU. Architecture is key here, as it’s the foundation of contemporary consoles like the PS5. Dubbed the Xclipse 920, the GPU provides the first hardware-accelerated ray-tracing solution for phones, and Samsung touts “console-quality” immersive visuals. It also has variable rate shading, which overall is a pretty big advantage over the Mali design Samsung adopted on the Exynos 2100 last year.
David Wang, senior vice president of AMD Radeon Technologies Group, said:
Samsung’s Xclipse GPU is the first result of multiple generations of AMD RDNA graphics planned in Exynos SoCs. We can’t wait for our mobile customers to experience a great gaming experience based on our technology partnership.
The Exynos 2200 isn’t lacking in other areas; it has Arm’s latest Cortex X2 cores along with the A710 and A510 — similar to what Qualcomm used this year — and Samsung is touting a new dual-core NPU as a differentiator for mobile imaging. The Exynos 2200 works with QHD+ panels up to 144Hz, so we’ll likely see Samsung launch a phone with that refresh rate sometime this year.
There’s a new 5G modem with wider coverage and mmWave bands, and on the camera side, the Exynos 2200 is capable of delivering 8K video at up to 60fps, and it can handle up to a 200MP imaging sensor. It’s built on the 4nm node — just like Qualcomm and MediaTek designs.
From Yongin Park, President of Samsung Electronics System LSI Business:
Samsung has crafted the Exynos 2200 to provide the best possible experience for smartphone users. Exynos 2200 With Xclipse, our new mobile GPU built with industry leader AMD’s RDNA 2 graphics technology, will redefine the mobile gaming experience, complemented by enhanced graphics and AI performance.
Samsung hasn’t said when the Exynos 2200 will arrive, but it’s currently in mass production, and it should debut in international versions of the Galaxy S22 later this quarter. Samsung has failed to offer the same level of hardware as Qualcomm in the high-end segment as it rivals the best Android phones, and while the Exynos 2100 came close last year, it wasn’t quite up to the mark for gaming.
The Exynos 2200 should solve this particular hurdle, and I’d love to see how it performs in practice. With the Galaxy S22 not too far away, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
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