- We may have another sneak preview of the Galaxy S26 designs
- There is also a new rumor surrounding the Samsung Exynos 2600 chip
- We expect three flagship Galaxy S26 phones next year
We’re expecting three new contenders for our best Android phone list when Samsung unveils the Galaxy S26 series sometime early next year, and a couple of new leaks have given us a better idea of what to expect from these devices.
First of all, as seen by Android Authority, there are images of the Galaxy S26 phones hidden in the yet-to-be-released code for Samsung One UI 8.5 – the major software update due to roll out in 2026 alongside the new flagship phones.
We get clear renders of the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra, which are the three handsets expected to launch in January, February or March (it’s been reported that there won’t be a Galaxy S26 Edge next year).
These images line up with previously leaked images of the phones, with vertically stacked cameras sitting on their own island and curved corners. It looks like there won’t be a huge number of design changes from the Samsung Galaxy S25 phones.
A tale of two chips
Our second leak comes from South Korean IT Home (via GSMArena): apparently Samsung’s plan is to just use its own Exynos 2600 processor in its native South Korea and use Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets everywhere else.
According to the IT Home article, current production problems and previous technological problems contributed to the decision. It is worth noting that none of the Galaxy S25 phones had the Exynos 2500, although it appears in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7.
It would be quite a surprise if the Exynos 2600 was ready to go on time and only appeared in models sold in South Korea. Samsung has previously pushed its own chips into several markets – and it was previously rumored to do so again in 2026.
Still, Samsung’s Exynos plans are notoriously difficult to predict and change year by year (as we’ve seen in 2025). For models and markets where the Exynos 2600 is not used, it is almost certain that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be implemented instead.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
