Samsung was working on at least two new custom CPUs before shutdown

Samsung’s Mongoose custom CPUs have appeared inside the firm’s flagships since 2016’s Galaxy S7 series, all the way to the most recent Galaxy S20 family. The custom CPU division was shut down by Samsung late last year, suggesting that we won’t see any more Mongoose CPUs going forward.

Now, Android Authority has spotted four LinkedIn profiles, confirming that Samsung was working on at least two new Mongoose custom CPUs. All four profiles name-drop the Mongoose M6, which would’ve likely appeared in the Galaxy S21 or whatever Samsung’s early 2021 flagship is called. After all, the Mongoose M5 is in the Exynos Galaxy S20 series.

One of the profiles also references the Mongoose M7, suggesting that the original plan was for the 2022 flagship to have a seventh-generation custom CPU. Check out the relevant screenshot below.

It certainly makes sense that Samsung was working on new custom CPUs prior to the division being shut down, as custom CPUs take a long time to bring to market. We’re not sure whether the company will drop work on the Mongoose M6 entirely along with the shuttered division, or if it intends to keep working on it in some capacity.

The Exynos-powered Galaxy S20 series (which contains custom CPUs) received criticism after several tests showed the Snapdragon version was more powerful and had better graphical performance. This was reflected in our own performance testing, although our testing also showed that the Exynos variant had better endurance.

News of Samsung’s unreleased custom CPUs comes a day after a report revealed that Google is working with Samsung to produce a mobile chipset. It’s believed that this processor could land inside a Pixel phone as soon as next year.