Samsung’s mobile processor strategy is undergoing a major turnaround. According to numerous reports from Korean media and industry sources, the company plans to equip the entire upcoming Galaxy S26 series with the new Exynos 2600 chipset. Samsung has already begun mass production of this chip using its advanced 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process.

The Exynos 2600 could be very powerful

This move suggests that Exynos will be featured not only in the base and Plus models but also potentially in the top-tier model, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a first since the Galaxy S22 series.

Early reports about the Exynos 2600 suggest that Samsung is aiming for the peak performance of its own chipset. Comparisons with competitors indicate:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Power: The Exynos 2600 is claimed to deliver six times the AI ​​performance of Apple’s A19 Pro chip powering the iPhone 17 Pro. GPU and CPU Improvements: Compared to Apple’s chip, it’s reported to offer a massive 75% improvement in GPU performance and a 14-15% increase in multi-core CPU performance.

Overcome Qualcomm: Compared to its rival, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite, the Exynos 2600 reportedly outperforms its rivals, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite, by 30% in AI and 29% in GPU performance.

Samsung has also implemented design innovations to support the performance increase and address heating issues. The chip is designed with a 10-core CPU cluster, including a high-performance core clocked at 3.80 GHz. The modem has been separated from the main SoC to improve power efficiency and provide more space for computing components.

Heat Pass Block (HPB) and Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) technologies have been introduced to control overheating and thermal performance. Samsung has traditionally launched Galaxy phones with Exynos chipsets in markets like South Korea and Europe, and Snapdragon variants in markets like the US, Japan, and China. This regional strategy is expected to continue.

However, leaked reports suggest that Samsung may use the Exynos 2600 chip in all Galaxy S26 variants, including the Ultra model for the first time in select regions. This is seen as significant evidence of the company’s confidence in its chipset.