Samsung’s Exynos 2600 targets Galaxy S26 comeback with 6x faster AI

Samsung is preparing to bring Exynos processors back to the Galaxy S flagship series with the Exynos 2600 chip expected in the Galaxy S26 lineup next year. The move marks a potential comeback for Samsung’s custom silicon after the troubled Exynos 2500 suffered production delays and lackluster performance, forcing Samsung to rely exclusively on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for the entire Galaxy S25 series.

What you should know: The Exynos 2600 will leverage Samsung’s cutting-edge 2nm Gate-All-Around manufacturing process, potentially giving it power efficiency advantages over Qualcomm’s next-generation chip built on TSMC’s 3nm technology.

• Samsung has confirmed the chip will feature “next-gen AI” capabilities, with rumors suggesting the NPU (neural processing unit, the chip’s AI brain) could be up to six times faster than Apple’s A19 Pro and 30% faster than Qualcomm’s latest offering for AI workloads.
• Early reports indicate Samsung’s 2nm yield rates remain challenging, varying between 30% and 50%, which could impact cost advantages over using Qualcomm chips exclusively.

The strategic positioning: Samsung appears to be taking a tiered approach with the Galaxy S26 series, potentially reserving Snapdragon for premium models while using Exynos for more affordable variants.

• Rumors suggest the Galaxy S26 Ultra and possibly the Plus model will feature Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 globally, while the baseline Galaxy S26 could be the primary Exynos 2600 device.
• This strategy mirrors Samsung’s recent foldable releases, where the Galaxy Z Flip 7 uses Exynos while the Z Fold 7 features Snapdragon.

Performance expectations: While benchmark leaks suggest competitive performance, the Exynos 2600 faces significant challenges in matching Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU cores.

• Current mobile CPU options like Arm’s C1-Ultra lag behind Qualcomm’s reference performance by 12-25% in various workloads.
• The rumored Xclipse 960 GPU could potentially surpass last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and Apple’s A19 Pro in graphics performance, representing a major improvement over previous Exynos graphics capabilities.

Why this matters: Success for the Exynos 2600 depends less on beating Snapdragon in raw performance and more on avoiding the reliability issues that have plagued previous generations.

• Past Exynos processors suffered from supply constraints, overheating, throttling, battery drain, and connectivity problems, creating a perception that Snapdragon variants were superior.
• A competitive Exynos 2600 at an aggressive $799 price point could help Samsung reduce dependency on Qualcomm while maintaining profit margins on flagship devices.

What they’re saying: Samsung itself has claimed that its next smartphones will offer “stronger performance,” though the company has yet to reveal the Exynos 2600’s full specifications.

The big picture: The Exynos 2600 represents Samsung’s attempt to reset its position as both a manufacturing leader and mobile AI innovator, leveraging its advanced 2nm process technology to compete with established players like Qualcomm and Apple in the premium smartphone market.