Samsung’s Exynos Division Seemingly Lacking Innovation Due to Internal Conflicts and Prioritizing Faster Growth
The reasons why Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series for next year will be an all-Snapdragon affair go significantly deeper, with reports coming in that multiple divisions, including the Exynos one, are rife with internal conflicts.
One Samsung Employee Was Reported Saying That the Company’s Top Brass Is Unable to Grasp the ‘Root Cause of the Problems’
A fresh report from News NCR claims that investors, together with hedge funds Petra Capital Management and Dalton Investments, have voiced concerns regarding Samsung’s inflexible company tradition. The Korean giant’s leadership is currently handled by Lee Jae-yong, the company’s vice-chair, and de facto chief. Where the firm should focus on innovation, especially with its Exynos division, Chan Lee, managing associate at Seoul-based Petra Capital Management, states that the exact opposite is happening, with preference given to faster growth and financial return.
“Designing their own chips requires creativity and engineering prowess but Samsung’s risk-averse culture has deepened under Lee Jae-yong’s leadership, with engineers avoiding new attempts at innovation.”
One junior Samsung engineer was reported to have penned a letter to the management team in April, explaining that Samsung’s researchers have been tasked with completing ‘impossible’ targets while also dealing with a toxic work culture. The unnamed employee also states that Samsung’s top management is unable to grasp the severity of the situation.
“It seems that the top decision maker is not able to grasp the root cause of the problems. I’ve heard quite a few stories of ‘crisis’ but I think this moment is more dangerous than ever.”
Samsung has reiterated earlier that it is not done with it’s Exynos range of chipsets, with previous reports providing some form of evidence to the aforementioned statement. One report mentioned Samsung’s mobile head talking about the development of a unique Exynos chipset, while a different report says the company will set up a ‘joint task force’ to ensure the best version of Exynos comes out in the near future.
Unfortunately, at this time, it does not change the fact that the company has a mountain to climb, and with a 12-month gap expected, Qualcomm and MediaTek will have a significant lead with their flagship smartphone SoCs. As massive of a company as Samsung is, it should not require significant effort to develop a competitive Exynos chipset, with the only glaring issue present right being an internal conflict of interest. If all executives and employees can get around this little hurdle, there is no reason why Samsung’s silicon division should not succeed.
The post Samsung’s Exynos Division Seemingly Lacking Innovation Due to Internal Conflicts and Prioritizing Faster Growth by Omar Sohail appeared first on Wccftech.