Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21, sports the Exynos 2100, which delivers industry-leading CPU performance and an integrated 5G modem. The company manufactures the 2100 in its 5nm technology, reducing power. It reused from the preceding Exynos 990 the 5123 modem but added new Samsung RF chips for millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G, creating the first mmWave phone using non-Qualcomm components.

Like the Galaxy S20, the S21 will also come in a version based on a Qualcomm chipset: the Snapdragon 888. The Exynos 2100 aims to match Snapdragon by boosting AI throughput to 26 trillion INT8 operations per second (TOPS) and raising its GPU throughput by 40% compared with its predecessor, although it still falls short in the latter category. It features an expanded image processor as well, supporting a single 200MP camera. The 2100-powered S21 competes against other premium Android phones based on the 888 and HiSilicon (Huawei) Kirin 9000.

The new Exynos is shipping in three Galaxy models, all of which feature mmWave: the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra. Versions that sell in the US and China employ the 888 and Qualcomm mmWave chips, whereas the rest employ the 2100 with Samsung’s mmWave. Both versions sell for the same price. The entry-level S21 carries a $799 price tag.