Samsung aims to boost Exynos 2600 for Galaxy S26
Samsung’s newest regular flagship phones—the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra—come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Fans are thrilled that Samsung picked this over its own Exynos 2500. In the past, Exynos chips often lagged behind Qualcomm’s, leading to slower speeds, shorter battery life, and overheating issues. But speed wasn’t the main reason for choosing Qualcomm this time.
Samsung went with Snapdragon because making the Exynos 2500 wasn’t cost-effective. The 3nm process used to build it had a low success rate, meaning too many chips failed during production. Now, Samsung is working hard to improve both the Exynos 2600 chip and the 2nm process it’s built on. The goal? To power the Galaxy S26 series with Exynos instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, saving money and boosting profits.
Samsung Forms Team to Upgrade Exynos 2600
A recent report from Korea’s FN News says Samsung has created a special team to tackle two big challenges. First, they want the Exynos 2600 to perform as well as chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek. Second, they’re improving the 2nm process to make more working chips. If they succeed, Samsung can confidently use the Exynos 2600 in the Galaxy S26 lineup. Switching to its chip will cut costs compared to buying from Qualcomm, though some fans might not like it.
A better 2nm process could also bring in outside companies like AMD, Nvidia, or even Apple to use Samsung’s chip-making services. This would be a big win for Samsung Foundry, which has struggled lately. The report hints that the Exynos 2600 and 2nm process are already doing better than the Exynos 2500 and 3nm setup.
Samsung sees this as a do-or-die moment to bring Exynos back to life. Improving the chip’s performance and the 2nm success rate is their last shot to make it work. Whether fans will embrace an Exynos-powered Galaxy S26—or if sales will take a hit—remains to be seen. For now, all eyes are on Samsung’s next move.
