# The Galaxy S27 Ultra's Snapdragon chip is running too hot in Samsung's tests

Source: https://idevice.com/the-galaxy-s27-ultras-snapdragon-chip-is-running-too-hot-in-samsungs-tests
Published: 2026-10-16

> Samsung gave Qualcomm until mid-October to fix overheating in the S27 Ultra's chip. It still isn't fixed, and Samsung's Exynos 2700 is the fallback.

Qualcomm's chip for the Galaxy S27 Ultra is running hotter than Samsung will accept, the Seoul Economic Daily reported in a story [relayed by Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/samsung-might-swap-the-galaxy-s27-ultras-chip-if-qualcomm-cant-keep-it-cool/). Samsung has been putting the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 through its final round of testing. In long, heavy workloads the chip went past Samsung's heat limits, and its performance dropped.

Samsung sent its results to Qualcomm last month and gave the company until mid-October to fix it. That's now. The chip still isn't where Samsung wants it, so the two companies are adjusting it and testing again. "Both sides are working to resolve the overheating issue," an industry official told the paper.

If Qualcomm misses, Samsung could use its own Exynos 2700, built on its second-generation 2nm process. That chip is [already in mass production](https://idevice.com/samsungs-exynos-2700-is-in-mass-production-and-the-s27-ultra-is-still-undecided) for the base S27, the S27+ and the S27 Pro. Samsung plans to start building the phones late this year, which doesn't leave much time for another round of fixes.

Last week [SammyGuru reported](https://idevice.com/snapdragon-stays-on-the-galaxy-s27-ultra-exynos-2700-goes-to-the-rest-of-the) that the Ultra would stay on Snapdragon in every country, and we said to plan on Snapdragon wherever you buy one. That now depends on Qualcomm passing a retest. Samsung has kept a second option open for months. It [ordered Ultra motherboards built around the Exynos](https://idevice.com/samsung-ordered-s27-ultra-motherboards-built-around-its-own-chip), and Exynos Ultra prototypes have been in testing, some reportedly with a slightly larger vapor chamber.

A phone that gets too warm slows itself down to protect the hardware. You won't notice it scrolling a feed. You will notice it an hour into a game, or when the phone is working through a long string of AI tasks. Qualcomm designed this chip around agentic AI, the kind of assistant that handles several jobs on its own, and Samsung is building its next Galaxy line around AI. A chip that slows down under exactly that load would undercut the main pitch.

An Exynos Ultra would be the first since the European Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2022. The Exynos 2100 in the Korean S21 Ultra had its own reputation for running hot, so a switch wouldn't settle the heat question by itself.

Qualcomm hasn't been ruled out, and Samsung hasn't confirmed any of this. The S27 Ultra is expected early next year. If you're set on one, don't assume which chip it has until Samsung announces the phone, and read reviews of the version sold where you live.

## Sources

- [Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/samsung-might-swap-the-galaxy-s27-ultras-chip-if-qualcomm-cant-keep-it-cool/) (Digital Trends)