Samsung launches its most powerful mobile chip yet ahead of Note 10 launch

With Samsung Galaxy Note 10 reveal just hours away (the event starts at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday), Samsung has launched a new, powerful smartphone chip -- the Exynos 9825.

The new chip, which is likely to power global variants of the Galaxy Note 10 (the U.S. versions will probably be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip), is Samsung's first to be built in 7nm technology, which should provide for better power efficiency compared to its predecessor, the 8nm Exynos 9820.

Samsung hasn't revealed all the details about the new chip, but the company does claim the new chip is better suited for AI experiences and should provide for faster gaming. In terms of specs, the Exynos 9825 sounds a lot like the 9820 -- both chips have an octa-core CPU with the same core configuration, the same Mali-G76 graphics chip, as well as a dedicated NPU for AI-related tasks, but again, the new manufacturing process should mean the new chip should be faster while draining less power.

Generally, the Samsung phones equipped with Snapdragon chips perform similarly to the ones equipped with Exynos chips, and I expect this to remain true in the future, so it won't matter much which version of the Note 10 you get. The new chip is a big deal for Samsung, though, as the new manufacturing process will allow the company's chip-making arm to keep pace with Qualcomm.

We'll probably learn more about the new Exynos chip during the Galaxy Note 10 launch later today. Until then, you can check out Samsung's official page for all available details.