To Exynos or not to Exynos, that is the question for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S26 series. And, additionally, where to Exynos? We’ve heard tons of reports already saying many different things – either only the S26 and S26+ will get the soon to be revealed Exynos 2600 SoC, or maybe the Ultra too, but only in some regions.
Today a new rumor muddies the waters even more, claiming that all three S26 models will indeed use the Exynos 2600, but only in one market: Korea. We have to say we’re very skeptical about this claim, since Samsung has in the past also brought Exynos S-series devices to Europe.
Anyway, the story is that Samsung has apparently noted the hatred its Exynos chips get online across the world, and the seeming preference everyone has for Snapdragon chips. On top of that, the company’s contract with Qualcomm allegedly stipulates that at least 75% of all Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra units sold globally have to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, or else Samsung will have to pay a very high amount as compensation.
Furthermore, the Exynos 2600 yield is said to not be ideal yet, although yields are improving faster for its 2nm GAA process than they did for 3nm processes in the past, so even if it wanted to, Samsung may not be able to equip more S26 units with its own chip. We wouldn’t take any of this for granted, though – surely tomorrow another rumor will come and contradict at least part of this. That is after all how things have been going on this front lately.
Source (in Chinese)
