Samsung is preparing the most powerful Exynos 2600 chip for the entire Galaxy S26 series
By ForGeeks 
It looks like Samsung is indeed preparing something serious. According to insider @Jukanlosreve, who follows the semiconductor industry closely, the new Exynos 2600 chip will show a huge performance boost in graphics (GPU) and neural computing (NPU). According to preliminary reports, it will be able to outperform not only the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but also Apple’s A19 Pro — and do so by a notable margin.
If the information is confirmed, the Exynos 2600 could be used in all Galaxy S26 series models, not just the base version as previously reported. This is also claimed by well-known whistleblower Ice Universe, citing its own sources. Qualcomm won’t completely disappear from the equation, however — Samsung still plans to divide the markets between its own and other people’s chips.
According to Korean media reports cited by Jukan, the Exynos 2600 neural processor will be six times faster than the Apple A19 Pro found in the iPhone 17 Pro. That also makes it about 30 percent more powerful than the NPU in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Even leaving artificial intelligence aside, the performance gains are impressive: The CPU is 14% faster and the graphics — an immediate 75% faster compared to the A19 Pro. Compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the GPU gains are up to 29%.
It was previously reported that the Galaxy S26 Pro might be released worldwide with the Exynos 2600 chip specifically. Moreover, some time ago it was rumored that even the Galaxy S26 Ultra would get this processor, although these reports were later denied.
Now the situation has changed again — new leaks claim that all Galaxy S26 models will come with the Exynos 2600, at least in some regions. Samsung allegedly plans to split shipments roughly 50/50: in the U.S., China and Japan, the smartphones will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, while in Korea, Europe and elsewhere — the company’s own Exynos.
It’s curious that Samsung Foundry recently received an order to produce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Snapdragon 8 themselves, presumably using the 2nm GAA process — the same one used for the Exynos 2600. So even the Snapdragon versions of the Galaxy S26 will essentially be running on chips manufactured by Samsung itself.
It’s not just the processor choice that’s undergoing change, though. The Galaxy S26 series as a whole is undergoing a reshuffle, with the Galaxy S26 Pro likely to be called simply the Galaxy S26. The Edge model is rumored to be canceled, the S26+ will remain, and the fate of the Galaxy S26 Ultra remains unchanged — that flagship will definitely be out.
