There's a big surprise inside the Samsung Galaxy S23

The Samsung Galaxy S22 range consists of the best Samsung phones and they're arguably the very best Android phones you can buy. But they're not all the same: depending on where you live (or buy your phone from), your Samsung may have a different processor. Currently that's the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or the Samsung Exynos 2200. The latter is the version sold in Europe and the UK, but not for much longer.

According to a leak by tipster Ice Universe, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is going to be based solely on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The processor will be in all phones from the Samsung Galaxy S23 to the range-topping Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

So what does this mean for the best Samsung phones in 2023?

Will we miss the Samsung Exynos in the Galaxy S23?

I don't think so. The Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S22 Ultra often outperforms the Exynos one in benchmarks, and it particularly smokes Samsung's silicon when it comes to GPU performance. The Exynos is marginally better when it comes to battery life, but we're talking single-digit differences here – and you can get a higher frame rate in games such as PUBG with the Qualcomm chip.

The news isn't a huge surprise, because talk of an Exynos 2300 has been completely silent so far: normally at this stage in development we'd expect to be getting more leaks, but Samsung has been noticeably lacking in enthusiasm for the Exynos of late. 

The news won't make any difference to US buyers, who've been getting the Snapdragon versions for some time. But I think UK and EU buyers will be pleased, because in many respects their Samsungs have been slightly less impressive than the US ones.