Samsung Galaxy S22 benchmarked: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Exynos 2200

As was par for the course (until 2023), Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series shipped in two chipset varieties. US and select other markets receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powered model, while the rest of the world’s S22s are powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 processor. Snapdragon vs Exynos is a long-running rivalry but 2022’s setup is one of the most contentious yet.

Both SoCs sport the same Arm CPU processing components, improved 5G parts, and more intelligent machine learning smarts. For gamers, both chipsets claim impressive performance gains while also diverging more than ever in terms of their underlying architecture. So let’s dive into the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Exynos 2200.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Exynos 2200 specs

Both chipsets utilize the same big, medium, and little ArmV9 CPU cores with very similar clock speeds. However, Qualcomm’s Cortex-X2 core offers a slightly higher peak clock speed, so we expect a slight win for the chip in demanding single-threaded scenarios and benchmarks. The two SoCs are manufactured on Samsung’s 4nm process, so are bound by the same transistor density and corresponding heat and power profiles.

On paper, the biggest differentiator likely to show up in benchmarks is their graphics capabilities. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 showcases its latest Adreno 730 GPU while the Exynos 2200 debuts Samsung and AMD’s RDNA partnership with its Xclipse 920 GPU. Xclipse has been subject to much speculation, both good and bad, and is by far the most significant unknown here. So, let’s dive in.

Benchmark results

We’ll start our benchmarking by looking at some classic CPU and GPU metrics using GeekBench 5, 3DMark, and GFXBench. We’ve also compared the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra against other current-gen and last-gen smartphones to showcase where the phones fit in the big picture.

As expected, there’s not a lot of difference between the new chips in the CPU department. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 edges it on single-core performance but doesn’t perform quite as well in multi-core, according to GeekBench 5. Perhaps more surprising (and worrying) is that neither chipset seems to offer much in the way of a CPU performance uplift over the previous generation. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 provides some additional single-core grunt, its multi-core scores lag behind the Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100.

Likewise, the Exynos 2200 appears no faster than its predecessor, which could have an impact on app and system responsiveness, which we’ll closely look at in a minute. The 8 Gen 1 powered REDMAGIC 7 is the exception. Thanks to its fan-assisted cooling setup, it pulls ahead in both single and multi-core scores. If you’d been worried these new chips might run hot, these results are confirmation that hefty cooling is required.

On the GPU side, we see a clear lead for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and its Adreno 730. Benchmark scores eclipse previous-gen models in every test by as much as 70% in some scenarios. Qualcomm’s latest GPU appears to have closed the gap on Apple’s GPU advantage too. The Exynos 2200 and its new RDNA graphics don’t seem to be as impressive, even though they still sport notable gains over last-gen chipsets as well. Although the new GPU is up to 25% faster than the previous-gen Mali set up in some tests, it offers a more modest 15% uplift in more demanding benchmarks. Unfortunately, the chip can’t catch Apple’s lead.

To get a better look at day-to-day performance, we’re taking a closer look at the broader system performance and workload picture through the popular PCMark and AnTuTu benchmarks.

AnTuTu reflects our earlier assessments regarding CPU and GPU performance — showcasing minimal CPU but notable GPU gains, particularly for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Again, there’s a big gap here between the latest Snapdragon and Exynos chipsets, with the latter falling somewhere between the 8 Gen 1 and last-gen 888. Interestingly, both Galaxy S22 Ultra models score relatively low under AnTuTu’s UX category compared to rival smartphones and even last-gen models. We have noticed the rare moment of sluggishness when using both handset variants, suggesting something is not quite right with Samsung’s task scheduler.

PCMark’s suite of common tasks paints a less rosy picture for the new chips. Again, there’s an advantage for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 platform over the Exynos 2200, even if it’s only slight. This further suggests that the Snapdragon model will hand in a slightly smoother user experience across various common workloads. However, we see the 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200 offer no tangible benefit over previous-gen smartphones when it comes to general workloads. Both models of Galaxy S22 Ultra fair fractionally worse than last year’s Exynos 2100 and Snapdragon 888 across PCMark’s tests. In other words, don’t expect to see ground-breaking performance improvements in day-to-day apps with the move to a Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Given how many 8 Gen 1 phones we’ve tested and the range of benchmarks we’ve run, the Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 results are perhaps a little disappointing. GPU results aside, of course. Further investigation revealed that this lackluster performance stems from issues with Samsung’s 4nm manufacturing node. Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 phones, built on TSMC’s 4nm alternative, showcased far fewer issues and realized much more of the chip’s expected peak potential.

Stress testing

With general performance at a standstill, it appears that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and, to a lesser extent, the Exynos 2200 only have gaming gains to write home about. However, the benchmarks we’ve run so far only show us an ideal, static look at performance. Sustaining high performance over a long period of time is the holy grail, so let’s check out some stress tests.

The results aren’t good. Performance from both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200 nose dives after just a couple of 3DMark Wildlife test runs, showing that sustained performance is an issue. This is especially disappointing compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which holds up for longer. It’s one thing to catch the iPhone in a single run, but Apple’s handset is still better than Samsung’s when it comes to sustained performance.

Delving into the percentages, the Exynos 2200 gives up 17% of its performance after four runs but then stabilizes, losing about 35% at its worst. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Galaxy S22 Ultra gives up 28% of its performance after just four runs and continues to fall sharply before stabilizing at about 50% performance lost after 12 runs. Surrendering half its performance so quickly is entirely unacceptable. Despite producing a lower peak score, the Exynos 2200 sustains its performance better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, at least inside the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Other Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones hold up better, but there are still issues. The OPPO Find X5 Pro survives six runs (about six minutes) before throttling to about 36% of its peak. Even at its worst, the Find X5 Pro retains performance above previous-gen models, unlike the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The much better-cooled REDMAGIC 7 can sustain peak performance for 11 runs and holds up very well for the entire 20. Effective cooling certainly seems to be a requirement to run these latest chipsets at this full potential for any period of time.

We also ran an in-house benchmark to test endurance for even longer. The results confirm our earlier assessments. For starters, there’s some worrying inconsistency in the Exynos 2200’s CPU setup, which sees performance drop shortly after the benchmark starts. We ran the test a few times and this kept happening, hinting at a significant pairing back of CPU performance after a short initial burst. Eventually, the performance stabilized, but we see a notable 13% reduction in peak scores. Aggressive throttling could contribute to the sluggish general performance identified in earlier benchmarks. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s CPU performance remains virtually rock steady during the same test.

However, we notice a very steep decline in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s GPU performance during the same test. The Adreno 730 GPU quickly falls to just 40% of its initial performance, following what we observed with the 3DMark Wildlife stress test. Meanwhile, the Exynos 2200’s Xclipse 920 holds up better over many more tests before dropping a similar amount of performance after 30 test runs, approximately 47 minutes. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 may look like the better gaming chip at first glance, it can’t sustain its peak GPU performance for as long as the Exynos.

Our stress test also gave us a battery-life comparison for the two handsets. Under extreme load, the Galaxy S22 Ultra Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 lastest 222 minutes versus 211 minutes for the Exynos variant. An 11-minute difference is close enough to be within the margin of error. We don’t have any reason to believe that either handset will present notably inferior battery life.

Overall we’re pretty disappointed at the discrepancy between peak and sustained benchmark scores from both chipsets. Although last year’s smartphones weren’t perfect in this regard, they managed to sustain performance much longer than the 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200. Of course, these stress tests are more challenging than most workloads you’re going to encounter in the real world. But it doesn’t bode well for device longevity, as more advanced games hit the market that will eventually stress cutting-edge hardware.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra performance verdict

To sum up our results, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 comes out ahead of the Exynos 2200 in classic benchmark tests, primarily thanks to a very high GPU score that rivals Apple’s A15 Bionic. Otherwise, there’s not much to write home about in terms of CPU and system-wide performance improvements, which appear to be in the same region as previous-gen smartphones, but still ahead of Google’s Tensor SoC. Ultimately though, there are no real winners in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Exynos 2200 showdown. Both chipsets powering the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultras we’ve tested have some significant problems, and it appears that Samaung’s manufacturing process is the common thread.

Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 appears to have a much faster graphics chip on paper, performance is utterly unsustainable without sufficient cooling, which the Galaxy S22 Ultra can’t provide. The OPPO Find X3 Pro showcases a similar issue with the 8 Gen 1 as well. The speculator in me wonders whether Samsung’s AMD partnership spooked Qualcomm, leading to an over-aggressively clocked GPU to appear more competitive. Either way, it seems that the Xclipse 920 offers better-sustained performance than Qualcomm’s Adreno 730.

The Exynos 2200 has its issues too. Its GPU is slower out of the gate and also throttles back when placed under stress, although not as aggressively as Qualcomm’s chip. But the CPU performance issues may be the most alarming, as the chip appears to score slightly lower in GeekBench 5 and PCMark’s workload tests compared to its predecessor. We also noticed CPU performance problems during our sustainability test that don’t appear with the Snapdragon model. This likely explains other reports of occasional sluggish app performance with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Exynos model. Although I can’t say I’ve noticed too much of this myself.

The takeaway is that we’re looking at one of the more disappointing chipset generations in recent times, at least where the Galaxy S22 Ultra is concerned. Performance isn’t bad enough for me to say don’t buy a phone with these chips, but both are underwhelming in their own ways. Samsung’s AMD RDNA partnership isn’t the game-changer some had hoped for, while Qualcomm’s own graphical gains don’t hold up under stress. Qualcomm and Samsung market their chipsets as the best in the business, but what we’ve seen is two companies struggling to extract major performance gains from the mobile form factor.

I’ll caveat this article by saying that CPU performance in the region of last-gen is not itself a problem, and we’ve seen solid frame rates on demanding games like Genshin Impact. However, more demanding games will inevitably appear in the coming years, and a lack of sustainable performance today is a worry, especially as performance scores we’ve seen can fall below last year’s models. Those shopping for a new phone with best-in-class performance should definitely check out Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones, or the last-gen 8 Plus Gen 1.