Samsung has dual sourced the chipsets for their smartphones in the last few years and there is no change with the Galaxy S10 lineup. All the S10 versions, including S10e, S10, S10 Plus, and S10 5G are using either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 system-on-a-chip (SoC).
The phones start shipping in March 2019 and if you are in North America or China, you will get the Snapdragon 855 versions while consumers in Asia and Europe will most likely get the Exynos 9820 chip. Previously, there were no significant differences in performance between the two editions. Is it the same with the two new processors? We’re going to find out in the comparison of specifications and benchmark scores.
Read also: List of Smartphones Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Processor
Specifications
| Processor | Snapdragon 855 | Exynos 9820 |
| Process | 7nm FinFET | 8nm LPP FinFET |
| CPU | Octa-core semi-custom Kryo 485CPU: Single-core (Cortex A76 @ 2.84GHz) + Tri-core (Cortex-A76 @ 2.42GHz) + Quad-core (Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz) | Octa-core custom CPU: Dual-core(Custom CPU) + Dual-core (Cortex-A75) + Quad-core (Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Adreno 640 | ARM Mali-G76 MP12 |
| Dedicated NPU | Yes | Yes |
| Display | Up to 4K, HDR and 10-bit color depth | WQUXGA (3840×2400), 4K UHD (4096×2160) |
| Storage | UFS 3.0 | UFS 3.0, UFS 2.1 |
| Memory | LPDDR4x | LPDDR4x |
| Camera | Up to 20 MP dual cameras, up to 32 MP single camera | Rear 22MP, Front 22MP, Dual-camera 16MP+16MP |
| Video Capture | 4K HDR @ 60fps. Supports shooting in HDR10+, HDR10, HLG | 8K @ 30fps or 4K @ 150fps |
| Video Playback | 8K 360 degree VR, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, 10-bit color depth, H.265, VP9 video decoder | 10-bit HEVC(H.265), H.264, VP9 codec |
| LTE Modem | X24 LTE 2 Gbps (DL)/316 Mbps (UL), Optional X50 5G Modem | LTE-Advanced Pro Cat.20 8CA 2Gbps (DL) / Cat.20 3CA 316Mbps (UL) |
Benchmarks
We ran the standard benchmarks like AnTuTu (comprehensively test all aspects), PCMark Work 2.0 (handle common productivity tasks), and Speedometer 2.0 (browser benchmark measuring the responsiveness of Web applications). The higher the scores, the more powerful the processor is.
Antutu
| Processor | Snapdragon 855 | Exynos 9820 |
| MEM | 9,198 | 12,031 |
| UX | 72,170 | 72,851 |
| CPU | 119,672 | 102,976 |
| GPU | 142,533 | 137,207 |
| Total | 343,573 | 325,065 |
3D Mark & Geekbench
| Snapdragon 855 | Exynos 9820 | |
| 3D Mark (GPU) | 5,228.5 | 4,459.5 |
| Geekbench (Single-Core) | 3,518 | 4,493.2 |
| Geekbench (Multi-Core) | 10,778.3 | 10,126.2 |
PCMark Work 2.0
| Processor | Snapdragon 855 | Exynos 9820 |
| Web Browsing 2.0 | 9,187 | 7,871 |
| Video Editing | 6,548 | 5,600 |
| Writing 2.0 | 10,756 | 9,125 |
| Photo Editing 2.0 | 17,505 | 11,423 |
| Data Manipulation | 7,152 | 6,189 |
Speedometer 2.0
| Snapdragon 855 | Exynos 9820 | |
| OS WebView | 60.1 | 47.7 |
Conclusion
We can see that the Snapdragon 855 outperforms the Exynos 9820 in every test. The difference is outstanding in the PCMark Work 2.0 video editing benchmark where the Snapdragon scores nearly 1,000 points higher and the Exynos has a lower score than many older smartphones released last year. Besides, the Qualcomm’s processor doesn’t have the overheating issue and even has slightly better battery life according to most early users. In short, the Snapdragon 855 is a clear winner and absolutely the best choice for your Samsung Galaxy S10 phone.
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Jack says
You say “the best choice” as if you have a choice which SoC you get. Once again companies companies are screwing over anyone that isn’t American.
Jonathan F.V. says
Jack, try ordering from the grey market. Also, the North American S10 has a locked bootloader. The Exynos versions have an unlockable bootloader. There is one Snapdragon model that has an unlockable bootloader. It’s the Chinese model. The name of the model is SM-G9750. I ordered one, and it actually cost less than the one I had ordered from Samsung.
Good luck!
Dan says
I’ve ordered a grey import snapdragon variant myself. From what I hear the battery life on the snapdragon s10+ is legendary, and there are some worrying reports of stuttering issues with the exynos gpu.
Worth the risk for a better product personally, and the price difference easily covers full insurance.
Jonathan F.V. says
Have you received it yet? Mine is supposed to ship in 2-3 business days. I also think it’s worth it.
Rahim says
Hi Jonathan
Please advise what website you ordered your phone from?
thanks
Aissa says
Hey, where did you get from? I live in Sweden, and I’m not about getting the Exynos version. And thanks in advance.
Andrew says
Wondamobile. I ordered an S10 with 855 on thursday and the next week on wednesday it arrived completely fine and ive been enjoying the phone for about 2weeks without any problems. Also, its a lot cheaper.
Rahim says
@ andrew, i went to the wondamobile website. The phone is being shipped from china, how do you know you got a genuine phone and not a fake?
I want to place an order. What country did you order to?
Arsen says
#Jonathan, couldn’t quite understand is the version with unlockable bootloader better than the locked one?
SweetPsychoScorpio says
You can upload any carriers bootloader on the unlocked.. well, at least until Samsung releases the BYOD update and then the rest of us (**screwed Americans imo) can carrier unlock ours and not be stuck to what ever carrier we started with or purchased thru
Jonathan F.V. says
@Arsen With an unlocked bootloader, you can flash an alternate firmware, a custom recovery or root your phone. I don’t plan on doing this right away as apparently tripping Knox (Samsung’s security system) makes it so that you can’t use banking apps, and I need it. But I might a few years down the line when I live near my bank again.
saverio says
do you recommend the exynos or snapdragon version?
Jonathan F.V. says
It depends. If you want to use custom firmwares or root your phone, the Exynos version is better because more developers support it. But the Snapdragon SoC has advantages this year. It seems to be a tiny bit faster and is better with energy consumption, so it has a bit better battery. Also, it has a better graphics chip compared to Exynos. The downside is that the North American Snapdragons have their bootloaders locked, which means you can’t flash alternate firmwares or root them. The Chinese version has an unlockable bootloader (you have to unlock it yourself), which means you could do the same as with the Exynos, but there is barely any development done on the Snapdragon, unfortunately. So there is less choice overall when it comes to custom roms. Much less. But I’m still choosing the Snapdragon version because it has better overall performance.
Philippe says
How’s your S10 from Wondamobile working. Is it genuine ?
Fraizer says
Hi dear Jonathan F.V
thank you so much for your preceise answers !
please can you tell me which is the right version for the “S10” not the plus version with this Snapdragon 855 ? if i am not wrong the reference you give the SM-G9750 is for the Plus version right ?
this refence you will i hope give me for the S10 “Non Plus” it will be too with unlocked bootloader ?
i want an S10 to use it europe to upload an official original french version. Will be not problem right ?
thank you
Dani says
Here you go… Samsung Galaxy S10 SM-G9730. That’s the “non plus” snapdragron 855 variant of the S10.
Cheers!
Marcelo says
Hi Jonathan. Did you buy yiur phone through e-bay? Everything ok?
Carlos says
I quite understood the difference between both. What I don´t understand is both works perfectly anywhere in the globe. Why the snapdragon is not sold worldwide?
Jonathan F.V. says
I don’t understand the whole reason myself, but it’s something along the lines that Samsung makes their own chip (Exynos), but the modem isn’t compatible with many networks in the US, and the modem is integrated on the SoC. So for the US, they use Snapdragon processors for compatibility reasons, and also because apparently (I’m not sure whether this is true) Qualcomm owns patents preventing Samsung to make their Exynos modem compatible with the US, so it’s more economical for Samsung to use Exynos in most of the world, and Snapdragon in North America and a couple other markets probably because they have to order a certain amount of Snapdragon SoC.
Something like that.
Jeeva says
Nope. The reason samsung using snap in na and exynos in asia they sell most number of mobiles in asia so they use their own chipset adavantage of using their chipset they control their productivicty and not dependent on quancolumn.in na they only sell the premium phone. Sorry for my bad english
UselessInformation says
If Samsung could, they would ship all their Phones with the Exynos chip. The reason they don’t is simple: Qualcomm has pretty much built up a monopoly in NA. You either have to pay them tons of licensing fees, just to be able to use some frequencies there, or you straight up just use their Chips.
There’s nothing like ‘Samsung gives NA more premium devices than to other countries’. That’s completely wrong and even the opposite! Up to now, Koreans always got models superior to the ones of NA and EU!
The only reason why Qualcomm got ahead of Samsung this time is, because they were able to produce 7nm Chips, while Samsung used some 8nm process.
And well… the Adreno GPUs were always better than the Stock Mali ones.
Thomas says
If I purchase from Wondamobile, does this snapdragon s10+ comes with warranty?
Ionela says
Hi everybody! Is anybody aware what happens if I purchased a Samsung S 10 in North America and use it in Europe because people tell me that I might have trouble using it
Mike says
You will not have warranty in Europe …you have to send it back to us for warranty…volte and WiFi calling doesn’t work…
LJ Kinser says
Are the comparative results the same for a Note 9?
I am now noticing both chips in different sales listings, no now I’m wondering which phone chip to go with.
Brian M says
I noticed it appears the single core benchmark is scoring the exynos better than the snapdragon; anyone have any information about this? Based on raw specs and the architecture it would seem to me the 855s single core performance should be noticably faster on a benchmark.
Mauro Bruno Barbosa says
The snapdragon model can be better, Fast and bla bla bla, But I can not change a bit of velocity by software update
Romen says
Is there any network issue using Snapdragon variant in Asia (specifically in Bangladesh) ?
Heard that the network infrastructure may not support Snapdragon variant outside of designated region and possibility of causing heating issue.
Just want to be sure before ordering from US or China.
Mike says
Get the phone from China …
bigtroll says
Snapdragon model based on the new Cortex A76 and is on out-of-order architecture, Exynos is the old Cortex A75 and in-order . A76 is the future due to the similarities with desktop CPU architecture.
Sheejan Adhikari says
Hello,
Have you heard about Redmi K30 and POCO X2? I’m just interested in asking you. Is there any possible way to change snapdragon processor from 730g to 855 or 855+ is it possible and also tell me the pros and cons of it.
Thank you