Samsung Galaxy S26 will either make or break Exynos
It has been all but confirmed that Samsung is returning to Exynos and Snapdragon variants of its flagship phones across different markets. The Samsung Galaxy S26 and the S26 Plus will feature the Exynos 2600 in certain regions, while being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 in others.
Samsung has been working towards the Exynos 2600 chipset for a very long time. The company's foundry faced a lot of challenges during 2024 before finally being able to stabilize the 3 nm manufacturing process. Samsung immediately began work on its 2 nm processes so that it could ready the Exynos 2600 in time for the Galaxy S26 phones. After having been forced to equip the entire Galaxy S25 lineup with Snapdragon instead of the Exynos 2500 as planned, Samsung is determined to debut its new chipset next year. However, some reports from inside the industry, as well as a decision by Samsung, make me think that the company knows that its chips will still fall behind.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 series used Snapdragon across the world. | Video credit — Samsung
Samsung has reportedly planned on not using the Exynos 2600 in the Galaxy S26 Ultra regardless of region. Whenever this has happened before, like with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it was so Samsung could provide the 'Ultra' experience everywhere and ensure a competitive offering. Additionally, Galaxy phones equipped with Exynos chips have historically underperformed compared to their Snapdragon alternatives.If Samsung is not going to use the Exynos 2600 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, then it seems very likely that the company's own chipset is still not as good as the competition. Rumor has it that Samsung's 2 nm chips perform slightly worse than TSMC's ( Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ) 3 nm counterparts.
If that is the case, then it makes sense that Samsung would refrain from using the Exynos 2600 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. But the average consumer can't really tell the difference, so what's the problem?
The average user doesn't pay attention to slight performance advantages. | Image credit — Samsung
Samsung has spent a lot of money to make sure that Exynos can replace Snapdragon. There was a time during last year when it seemed like Samsung Foundry was doomed to shut down. The recovery has been exciting to see, but the company needs results yesterday .
Apple and Samsung are ditching Qualcomm, as both companies have their own visions for the future. Samsung's plans include investing heavily into Exynos so that the Galaxy phones never have to resort to Snapdragon again. This is something that I am heavily in favor of because I want to see Samsung's devices go through the same revolution that Apple's products did with Apple silicon.
However, the Exynos 2600 needs to impress the techies. It needs positive publicity so that consumers' knee-jerk negative reactions to the word 'Exynos' can start to fade. I'm already concerned after the news about the S26 Ultra, and I can only hope that Samsung knows what it's doing. If the Exynos 2600 mirrors its predecessors with less efficient power draw, heating problems, and lower performance scores, then it will only make Samsung's struggles infinitely worse. Samsung will question its resource allotment to Exynos, and the public will once again raise their pitchforks at the company.
Exynos isn't likely to be canned any time soon on account of how expensive Snapdragon is, but if it doesn't perform like it should, it'll definitely mean harder times for Samsung Foundry. People aren't a fan of spending the same amount of money for a worse product — shocker, I know — even if they can't actually tell the difference. After the developments of these last few years, it seems to me like the entire future of Exynos depends on how it performs next year.
If the Exynos variants of the Galaxy S26 are as capable as the Snapdragon ones, then it'll usher in a golden age for Samsung Foundry. But, keeping in mind the decision Samsung has made for the S26 Ultra, I think we can reasonably guess what the Exynos 2600 is going to actually perform like.
I would love to be proven wrong, though.
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