This is where the concept of "newness" shifts from corporate to community-driven. The Exynos 9610 features a Mali-G72 GPU, which belongs to the Bifrost family. For years, ARM’s proprietary drivers were the only option. However, the open-source Panfrost driver project (part of the Mesa 3D graphics library) has changed the game. While Panfrost originally targeted older Midgard GPUs, recent development has brought experimental support for Bifrost architectures, including the G72.
As of 2026, a "new driver" for the Exynos 9610 looks like this: a mainline Linux kernel compiled with the Panfrost DRM driver, combined with a userspace Mesa build containing Panfrost. This stack replaces Samsung’s proprietary blob entirely. The benefits are revolutionary: better integration with upstream kernels, the ability to run modern Wayland compositors, and even partial support for Vulkan via the PanVK driver. For a device originally stuck on Android 11, this new driver can enable a postmarketOS or Ubuntu Touch installation with GPU-accelerated rendering—a feat Samsung never intended. driver exynos 9610 new
If you are an enthusiast who has rooted your device, you might be looking for custom GPU drivers. Developers on forums like XDA Developers often port newer Mali drivers from newer Samsung chipsets (like the Exynos 990 or 1080) back to the 9610. This is where the concept of "newness" shifts
If you are trying to manually update your device to get the latest drivers, here is how to do it safely: Key finding: New driver achieves 59
The version number you are looking for is typically r38p0 or newer (as opposed to the legacy r28p0). Here is a technical breakdown of the changes: