Samsung's AMD-boosted processor might not be limited to Galaxy phones

Samsung might not keep the Exynos with AMD graphics all to itself. According to SamMobile, Weibo leaker Arsenal claims vivo will use the high-end chip (possibly called the Exynos 2200) in at least one high-end phone, suggesting the team-up won’t be exclusive to Galaxy phones.

Arsenal’s sources didn’t describe how vivo would use the mashup of Samsung and AMD hardware, but maintained that the performance was “very powerful” — although power consumption might be high. it could use more electricity than the old Snapdragon 810, the insiders claimed.

There was no mention of when vivo might ship the phone. Past rumors have suggested that Samsung and AMD might debut their Exynos collaboration sometime in July.

See also: All AMD GPUs explained

There’s no guarantee vivo will release a phone based on the Samsung and AMD partnership, or that it will be widely available. vivo used Exynos chips in Chinese versions of the X60 and X60 Pro, but changed to the Snapdragon 870 for international versions.

Even so, this could be welcome news if you’re eager to see how Samsung and AMD fare in a partnership. AMD has promised that the chip will pack features you normally only see in computer-oriented GPUs, including ray tracing and variable rate shading. These might be some of the first phones to deliver modern GPU features, opening the door to more realistic visuals and ports of games that were previously off-limits in the mobile realm.

The challenge, of course, is that the industry isn’t standing still. It’s not yet clear what Qualcomm, Apple and other phone chip makers will offer by the time Samsung and AMD are ready. This future Exynos might not seem quite so powerful if it arrives late enough that rivals have already caught up.