A new Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus benchmark lists a surprising (and worrying) chipset

• A new benchmark for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus shows it using an Exynos 2500 chipset
• This is at odds with other recent leaks, which suggested only the Snapdragon 8 Elite would be used
• The scores achieved in this benchmark are lower than those for models using the Snapdragon 8 Elite

Just as it was starting to look like every Samsung Galaxy S25 model would use a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset in all regions, we’re suddenly not so sure, as a new benchmark lists the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus as using an Exynos 2500 chipset.

Spotted by leaker @Jukanlosreve (via NotebookCheck), this Geekbench listing additionally mentions 12GB of RAM, and the phone here achieves a single-core result of 2,358 and a multi-core result of 8,211.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus has average Geekbench scores of 2,125 and 6,571 for single and multi-core respectively. So, the results for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus are significantly higher, especially for multi-core, but they’re still not what we were hoping to see.

You see, as we noted at the top of this article, most recent leaks had suggested that the entire Samsung Galaxy S25 series would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset exclusively, and benchmark results for that model are significantly higher; indeed, a recent Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus benchmark (with the 8 Elite chipset) saw the phone achieve a 3,160 single-core result and a 9,941 multi-core result.

So, we were hoping – and largely expecting – that the Samsung Galaxy S25 line would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite across the board, but this new benchmark suggests otherwise.

You could still get Snapdragon

There are a few things to note, mind you. First off, this new benchmark is for a European model, so for those of you in the US, it’s still very likely that Snapdragon will be used – indeed when Samsung does use different chipsets in different regions, the US typically still gets a Snapdragon model.

Secondly, just because this benchmark is popping up now it doesn’t mean it’s not an old prototype unit, with a chipset that Samsung has since decided against using. So, it’s still entirely possible that every Galaxy S25 model will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

And thirdly, even if a chipset split is planned, it’s likely – based both on leaks and past form – that Samsung will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite in all Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra models. So, if you buy the top phone, you’ll still probably be able to get the top chipset, wherever you are in the world.

That said, for those who don’t want or can’t afford the Galaxy S25 Ultra, this latest benchmark is a worrying sign.

We should find out for sure what chipset (or chipsets) the Samsung Galaxy S25 line will use soon, as these phones are tipped to land on January 22.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.