- Some models of Samsung Galaxy S26 will reportedly use an Exynos 2600 chipset
- However, it sounds like others still want a snapdragon -chipset
- Snapdragon -chipset is generally more powerful but the gap may be closing
The Samsung Galaxy S25 series has been a bit of a deviation, as Samsung usually uses two different chipsets for its Galaxy S phones (depending on the model and region), it used this year the Snapdragon 8 elite everywhere. Next year we might see a chipset split again.
This is according to the reputable Leaker @jukanlosreve who claimed to X that “Exynos 2600 is determined and it will be used in S26.” However, it does not sound like this will be a complete switch from Snapdragon as they added that chip volume is apparently limited.
So in other words, Samsung may not be able to produce enough Exynos 2600 chipset to equip all Samsung Galaxy S26 model with one, which means some models and/or some regions are likely to get Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, or whatever Qualcomm ends up calling its next generation chip.
Exynos 2600 is definitely back and it will be used in S26.But chip volume is so limited that it is likely to correspond to the Exynos 990 situation. I’m not sure if SF2 is actually something good.March 30, 2025
When Samsung uses two different chipsets, it typically equips us versions with a snapdragon, while base and plus models elsewhere get exynos, and Ultra still gets Snapdragon. So based on previous form, the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus may use Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 in the US and Exynos 2600 elsewhere, while the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra may be using Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 globally.
Differences in power and efficiency
What does it mean to you? Well, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon -Chipset tends to surpass Samsung’s Exynos, so we were quite happy to see the Snapdragon 8 elite used globally with the Galaxy S25 series. But in fact, Exynos 2400 used by the Samsung Galaxy S24 series in some regions was not drastically far behind his Snapdragon -rival.
In our own tests that compare an Exynos-driven Samsung Galaxy S24 with a Snapdragon-driven Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, we found that “you will not notice this performance difference in general use as both of these phones are far faster than they should be.”
And there are some areas where the Exynos 2400 actually seems to surpass the generation’s snapdragon chip. For example, Android Authority found that the life of the battery was better with exynos.
So if you live in a region where the Samsung Galaxy S26 gets an Exynos 2600 chipset, that might not be such a bad thing.
In any case, it is very early days for the Samsung Galaxy S26 leaks, as these phones are probably not launched until 2026. So even though this is not the first time we have heard that Exynos 2600 may be used in next year’s lineup, we can not be sure which chipset or chipsets will be used yet. For the time being, we would not worry too much about this opportunity.
