Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Samsung is reviving its two-chip strategy, with some Galaxy S26 phones featuring an Exynos chip.
- This year, the Galaxy S26 Pro and S26 Plus are reported to arrive with Exynos 2600, while the Edge and Ultra will have Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
- Despite this, phones in the US and in China will continue to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 across all models.
If there’s something Samsung should be praised for, it is its grit and relentlessness. The company has experienced various setbacks but has recovered from them just as quickly. And it may now be working to remove another thorn by addressing longstanding issues with its Exynos lineup. The rumored Exynos 2600 is expected to be Samsung’s first chipset based on a 2nm process, and the company has already begun mass-producing it. While earlier reports speculated on the possibility of the chipset being used for one of the Galaxy S26 phones in certain regions, a recent report claims the strategy may already have been finalized.
Following last month’s news establishing the likelihood of Samsung’s Exynos 2600 to be used inside the Galaxy S26 Pro — the smallest and most affordable of the lot, SamMobile now emphasizes that the change is confirmed. The outlet claims to have seen credible evidence that solidifies this change.
With this move, Samsung is expected to arm the Galaxy S26 Pro, slated to replace the erstwhile standard variant, with the Exynos 2600 across multiple markets. Based on Samsung’s two-chip strategy in previous years, some regions could still see the Galaxy S26 Pro powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This time, it’s likely the US and China.
Notably, Samsung had to abandon the strategy with the Galaxy S25 due to poor yields for the Exynos 2500. However, it made up by stocking the Galaxy Z Flip 7 with it instead.
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Additionally, the Galaxy S26 Plus variant, which was rumored to be discontinued until recently, will follow the Pro’s footsteps and feature the Exynos 2600. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Edge and the Ultra should continue to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 across all markets.
Besides a more efficient 2nm architecture than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the Exynos 2600 is also expected to feature NVIDIA’s RDNA architecture Xclipse 950 GPU. This was also observed on the Exynos 2500 powering the Galaxy Z Flip 7. The improved packaging is also expected to reduce the heat generated by the Exynos chip.
Incidentally, Samsung could also be building another 2nm chip — but for Qualcomm. Earlier today, we learned that Samsung is moving forward with developing a special Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variant with a 2nm architecture, and it could debut with the Galaxy Z Flip 8 next year.
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