Samsung Galaxy S26 gets an Exynos chip “for sure”
The days of Samsung having to revert to a Snapdragon chip are over. At least, for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series. Samsung will "definitely" release the S26 with the Exynos 2600 chip, according to an insider. But it will be called differently.
Samsung prefers to equip its Galaxy S series entirely with its own Exynos chipset. This is mainly because of cost. It just doesn't always manage to do this in recent years. For the upcoming S26 series, the Exynos 2600 is the obvious candidate to power it. This chipset baked on Samsung's SF2 2nm process will and should be used, Samsung said.
In previous years, Samsung used a mix of Exynos and Snapdragon chips. Thus, the US and South Korea often got a version with a Snapdragon chip while the Exynos version went to Europe. More often the rule than the exception was that the Exynos versions were less powerful and drained the battery faster. Much to the dismay of European fans of Galaxy S phones.
Processor selection over the years
Three times Samsung had to equip all models worldwide with a Snapdragon processor. Because it simply couldn't bake enough Exynos chips. Those were the last Galaxy S25, the S23 and years ago the S5.
| Model | Europe | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S26 | Exynos 2600 ? | ? |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 | Exynos 2400 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | Exynos 2200 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 | Exynos 2100 | Snapdragon 888 |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | Exynos 990 | Snapdragon 865 |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 | Exynos 9820 | Snapdragon 855 |
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | Exynos 9810 | Snapdragon 845 |
| Samsung Galaxy S8 | Exynos 8895 | Snapdragon 835 |
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Exynos 8890 | Exynos 8890 |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | Exynos 7420 | Exynos 7420 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | Snapdragon 801 | Snapdragon 801 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Exynos 5 Octa (5410) | Exynos 5 Octa (5410) |
Conversely, only the Galaxy S7, S6 and S4 were equipped with an Exynos chip everywhere. That's what Samsung prefers but that won't happen for the upcoming Galaxy S26. According to @Jukanlosreve, Samsung again cannot produce enough of them to meet global demand.
The Exynos 2600 is definitely back and it will be used in the S26.
But the chip volume is so limited that it'll likely be similar to the Exynos 990 situation
Possible Exynos name change
Through another source, we learn that Samsung is considering changing the Exynos name. So it is possible that the Exynos 2600 will not be called that soon. The many problems surrounding manufacturing and often lower performance compared to Snapdragon chips would make Samsung consider opting for a different name. Although no final decision has reportedly been made on this yet.
