Exynos 2600 may debut another in-house Samsung replacement

The Exynos 2600 will be manufactured using Samsung Foundry’s 2 nm process. Exynos processors have historically lagged behind their Snapdragon counterparts, both in performance and heat management. However, I’m still hopeful that Samsung can perfect Exynos and achieve some semblance of what the Mac did with Apple silicon: an unprecedented performance jump.

If the Exynos 2600 debuts in the Galaxy S26, then Samsung will have beat Apple to a 2 nm chip. The iPhone 18 will use the 3 nm A19 chips manufactured by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). However, if the Exynos 2600 isn’t ready on time, then Samsung will likely use the more expensive 3 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2.

A former Huawei GPU lead is reportedly working with Samsung to design its in-house GPU for the Exynos 2600. Prior to this, Exynos chips have used GPUs designed after AMD’s architecture. As this will be a first-generation design, it may not be as powerful as the competition, but I don’t think it should take Samsung too long to improve upon this.

Lastly, some consumers may not even get to use Samsung’s in-house GPU on their Galaxy S26. Reports indicate that the company is moving back to separate variants for different regions. So, while some countries will get the Exynos 2600, others may still get a Snapdragon phone instead.