Less than 1 in 10 actually want the Exynos 2600 over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, this poll shows

One of the hottest topics these days – not counting the story about how iPhone 17 is having cellular issues – is which way Samsung will head with the Galaxy S26 family.

Will it use the in-house made Exynos 2600 chipset? Or, instead, it would go for the highly-praised Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (the successor to the popular Snapdragon 8 Elite).

There are conflicting reports, and the nastiest has it that the maxed-out Galaxy S26 Ultra could ditch Snapdragon in favor of the Exynos 2600. Of course, you should always take rumors and leaks with a pinch of salt.

I say "nastiest" because Exynos chipsets have been generally perceived as lagging behind their Snapdragon counterparts in terms of raw performance and power efficiency. So, most of the people want a Snapdragon chip in their Galaxy flagship (Samsung sometimes uses Exynos or Snapdragon, depending on the market where the phone is being sold in).



This has just been confirmed once again, and the results are shocking. One of our very own PhoneArena polls, asking "Which processor would you choose?" has the following answers for the moment:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 – 80.12%
• Exynos 2600 – 7.25%
• I'm good with either one – 12.63%

So, it turns out that less than 1 in 10 of voters actually wants the Exynos 2600. The vast majority is hooked on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and there are reasons for this.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is designed to power next-generation Android flagships with improved performance and efficiency. Its third-generation Oryon CPU delivers faster single- and multi-core speeds, while the upgraded Adreno GPU boosts gaming performance and reduces power consumption.

The enhanced Hexagon NPU enables more advanced on-device AI, and the updated Spectra ISP supports 20-bit video processing for greater dynamic range. The chip also introduces full support for Advanced Professional Video and Dragon Fusion computational video, enhancing clarity, color, and contrast in every frame.

What about the Exynos 2600?

Samsung's upcoming 2 nm Exynos 2600 is showing promising performance, despite earlier reports of delays. Recent Geekbench scores suggest strong capabilities, with 3,309 in single-core and 11,256 in multi-core tests. This positions it ahead of the OG Snapdragon 8 Elite in raw benchmarks, and competitive with Apple's A18 Pro in single-core performance.

The chip's architecture hints at significant efficiency and processing improvements, potentially enabling smoother multitasking, faster app launches, and advanced AI capabilities.

While we'll have to see how it actually performs in real devices, the early numbers suggest the Exynos 2600 could be a strong player in next-gen Android phones, handling everything from daily tasks to heavy-duty apps with solid CPU and multi-core power.

It's a tough sell

The Exynos 2600 may seem to have finally caught up with its Snapdragon top-tier peers, but it won't be easy for Samsung to convince the majority of people that it's safe to get a phone with this particular chipset under the hood.

I hope that Samsung's marketing team has an ace up their sleeves. Or two, preferably.