Galaxy S26 may revive Samsung’s Exynos chip strategy

Samsung might be going back to Exynos for the Galaxy S26. At least, that’s what a new leak claims. Tipster Jukanlosreve says the Exynos 2600 is back on the table for Samsung’s 2026 flagships, ending the Snapdragon-only run we got with the Galaxy S25. According to the tipster, some Galaxy S26 models will use the Exynos 2600 chip in select regions, while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (or whatever it’s called) powers others.

That’s been Samsung’s playbook for years. It skipped Exynos for the S25 because it reportedly couldn’t make enough 2500 chips in time. So everyone got the Snapdragon instead.

But this time? Samsung is pushing hard to get the Exynos 2600’s 2nm yields up. The catch is that volume might still be limited—think Galaxy S22 levels of regional variation, not the global Exynos rollout of the S20 and Note 20 days.

And yes, that’s already triggering memories of performance gaps. The Exynos 990 was infamously weaker than its Snapdragon twin. Since then, Samsung has narrowed the difference, but Exynos variants still carry baggage with longtime fans.

Leaks suggest the Galaxy S26 Ultra will stick with Snapdragon across the board. The Exynos 2600 would likely be reserved for the standard and Plus models outside of the U.S., China, and Canada.

Too early to judge how it’ll stack up—but if Samsung wants to win people over, those first leaked benchmarks better tell a good story.