Samsung unveils Exynos 2200 with Xclipse GPU, based on AMD RDNA2 architecture
Samsung introduced today the Exynos 2200 - its latest flagship chipset that will power the Galaxy S22 smartphones in certain regions. The new platform is built on the 4nm EUV process technology and comes with a custom-made GPU called Xclipse.
It is based on the AMD RDNA2 architecture, and as such, it is a "one-of-a-kind hybrid graphics processor" that brings advanced features such as ray tracing and variable rate shading on mobile - the first smartphone chip to do so.
Ray tracing is a technology that simulates light behavior in real life, calculating the movement and color of objects as light rays bounce off surfaces. The hardware-accelerated feature provides realistic effects and immersive graphics, making playing games that support these features as fabulous as it gets.
Variable rate shading is another technology implemented in PC and console games. It allows developers to apply lower shading to areas where quality won't be affected, thus improving frame rate and the smoothness of the gameplay.
Exynos 2200 is also one of the first chips integrating Armv9 CPU cores. The octa-core processor has a single powerful Cortex-X2 core, three Cortex-A710 balancing performance and efficiency, and four Cortex-A510 little cores for power efficiency. Samsung traditionally does not reveal the frequency its chips are clocked at.
The brand-new GPU and improved CPU also have a more powerful NPU to keep them company. Compared to the Exynos 2100, the performance has doubled and is allowing more calculations in parallel, improving the overall AI performance.
In other specs, the Exynos 2200 supports up to 200MP single camera, 8K video recording, 4K displays at up to 120Hz or QHD+ ones at 144Hz.
The chipset works with the latest LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The 5G modem works both on the sub-6GHz and mmWave frequencies, while the global navigation system supports all major standards and satellites.
Samsung said the Exynos 2200 is "currently in mass production". There's no official date when we'll see the Galaxy S22 series with the chip, but rumors are pointing to February 8 as a potential launch date.