Galaxy S27 Ultra Snapdragon leak: Samsung is already testing Qualcomm’s next flagship chip in the U.S., Korea and Asia-Pacific

A meaningful new Samsung Galaxy S27-series processor leak surfaced on September 5, and it adds an important twist to the recent Exynos 2700 story.

According to a leaked Qualcomm project-portal screenshot obtained by Notebookcheck, Samsung Electronics is already validating Galaxy S27 hardware using Qualcomm’s unreleased SM8975 flagship processor across at least three regional builds: Asia-Pacific, South Korea and Verizon in the United States.

Snapdragon testing is further along than we knew

The leaked project entries are reportedly:

SS_SM8975_GS27_AP — Asia-Pacific
SS_SM8975_GS27_KOR — South Korea
SS_SM8975_GS27_VZW — Verizon/U.S.

All three reportedly use Qualcomm’s internal “Snapdragon_Premium_High_2026” software distribution. The existence of a Verizon-specific build is particularly interesting because it suggests Samsung is already doing carrier-specific RF/software validation for the upcoming Galaxy generation.

The SM8975 is expected to become Qualcomm’s highest-end next-generation Snapdragon chip, currently reported under the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 name. Qualcomm is expected to formally introduce its next Snapdragon flagship family at Snapdragon Summit, scheduled for September 22–24, 2026.

What does this mean for the Exynos 2700 S27 Ultra leak?

This is where today’s leak becomes particularly important.

Earlier reports said Samsung had begun preparing an Exynos 2700 Galaxy S27 Ultra motherboard for South Korea, potentially bringing Exynos back to an Ultra phone after a five-year absence. Those reports do not necessarily conflict with today’s information.

The new evidence shows that Samsung is simultaneously testing an SM8975 Snapdragon Galaxy S27 build for Korea.

That suggests Samsung may currently be evaluating multiple chipset configurations rather than having finalized which processor every S27 Ultra market will receive.

So claims that the South Korean S27 Ultra is definitely getting Exynos 2700 are premature.

What we can say with higher confidence

The strongest new evidence is that real Galaxy S27 development builds using SM8975 now appear to exist for the U.S./Verizon, Korea and Asia-Pacific regions. That’s more substantial than a generic rumor saying Samsung “plans to use Snapdragon,” although the leaked portal screenshot is still unofficial information.

It also strengthens the likelihood that the U.S. Galaxy S27 Ultra will continue using Qualcomm silicon, particularly given the presence of a dedicated Verizon project.

What it does not establish is whether every Galaxy S27 model represented by those projects uses SM8975, whether Samsung will ultimately ship both Snapdragon and Exynos S27 Ultras, or which regions would receive each processor.

Where the rest of the S27 Ultra leaks stand

There is no comparably strong new development today concerning the S27 Ultra’s cameras, battery, S Pen, Qi2 magnets, display or pricing.

Recent reporting still points toward the dramatic camera-plateau redesign, an integrated S Pen, potential native Qi2 magnets, a possible larger battery, and a reduced three-camera configuration. Those remain leaks rather than confirmed specifications.

Likewise, the experimental 50MP 4x telephoto with a roughly 1/1.9-inch sensor remains something Samsung is reportedly evaluating rather than a finalized retail camera configuration.

Current expectations still place the Galaxy S27 family in early 2027, but Samsung has not announced an Unpacked date or retail launch date.

Confirmed vs. leaked

Confirmed: Samsung has not officially announced the Galaxy S27 Ultra, its processor, specifications, price, cameras, battery capacity or release date.

Leaked: Qualcomm project information reportedly shows Samsung testing SM8975-powered Galaxy S27 hardware in Asia-Pacific, Korea and on Verizon.

Still uncertain: whether the S27 Ultra will ship with Snapdragon everywhere, return to a Snapdragon/Exynos regional split, or whether Samsung is simply evaluating both platforms before making its final decision.

For now, the most interesting takeaway is that Samsung appears to have both Snapdragon and Exynos options in development—and Snapdragon testing is already occurring even in Korea.

Read the September 5 Notebookcheck report

Galaxy S27 Ultra could bring Exynos back to the Ultra — a major strategy shift

A meaningful new Samsung Electronics Galaxy S27 Ultra leak has emerged from South Korea. According to a September 1 report from MoneyToday, Samsung has started preparing an Exynos 2700 version of the Galaxy S27 Ultra for selected markets, including South Korea. More significantly, the report says Samsung has already placed an initial order for S27 Ultra motherboards designed around the Exynos 2700.

Exynos could return to the Ultra after five years

This would be a substantial change in Samsung’s flagship strategy. The Galaxy S22 Ultra was the last Ultra generation offered with an Exynos processor. Galaxy S Ultra models from 2023 through 2026 have instead relied exclusively on Snapdragon silicon.

The report claims Samsung originally intended to use Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon platform across the S27 Ultra lineup. Development of that Snapdragon model is reportedly already well advanced, but Samsung’s MX and System LSI divisions are now coordinating development of an additional Exynos 2700 motherboard.

That means the S27 Ultra could once again become a region-dependent phone:

United States: Snapdragon is still expected.
South Korea: Exynos 2700 is now reportedly being prepared.
Other regions: not yet firmly established for the Ultra.

Samsung has not confirmed this regional configuration, so reports claiming that Europe will definitely receive an Exynos S27 Ultra are currently getting ahead of the strongest source.

Exynos 2700 itself just received another interesting leak

A newly reported Exynos 2700 die shot provides additional clues about what Samsung may be developing. The analysis points toward Samsung’s second-generation 2nm SF2P process, a 10-core CPU arrangement with two high-performance tiers, a large NPU, 24MB system-level cache, Xclipse 970 graphics and LPDDR6 support.

The leaked architecture could be especially important for sustained performance and efficiency. However, these are engineering-stage processor details, not confirmed Galaxy S27 Ultra specifications. Support for technologies such as LPDDR6 does not automatically mean the retail S27 Ultra will actually use LPDDR6 memory.

What Ice Universe is saying

There isn’t a new Ice Universe specification leak today that overrides the previous camera, design, battery or S Pen reporting. A September 2 post attributed to Ice Universe instead criticized the S27 series as feeling “tired, bored, exhausted”, suggesting disappointment with the direction of the lineup rather than revealing another hardware specification.

Current S27 Ultra leak picture

The Exynos 2700 Ultra variant is the meaningful new development. The other major reports remain largely where they were: a dramatically redesigned rear camera area, three-camera direction, integrated S Pen, potential native Qi2 magnets, and a larger battery remain under discussion. The recently reported experimental 4x telephoto configuration also remains just that—something reportedly being evaluated rather than a finalized retail camera specification.

Pricing also remains unknown. Reports estimating a price based on the current Ultra should not be treated as an actual S27 Ultra price leak. Current launch expectations remain around early 2027, but Samsung has not announced the Galaxy S27 Ultra, its launch date, pricing, processors or specifications.

The strongest evidence behind today’s development is the Korean supply-chain report about Samsung ordering Exynos 2700 S27 Ultra motherboards. That makes this considerably more interesting than a generic specification rumor, while still stopping short of proving that Exynos-powered retail S27 Ultras will actually ship.