Samsung’s Exynos 2600 teaser puts Galaxy S26 users in wait-and-see mode again

The Exynos 2600 is expected to be the first 2nm smartphone chip on the market, and early benchmark numbers suggest it can keep up with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. That puts the two in the same league again.

As usual, Samsung only reveals a flagship Exynos chip when it’s about to use it in an actual phone. Earlier this year, it did the same thing with the Exynos 2500 before the Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched – and sure enough, that foldable shipped with the chip. So at this point, we think this is basically as close to confirmation as we are going to get that the Galaxy S26 series will feature the Exynos 2600 in some regions.

The current Galaxy S25 lineup skipped Exynos completely – every model in every region used the Snapdragon 8 Elite. But all signs now point back to the somewhat classic dual-chip split. Meaning: the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus could use the Exynos 2600 across Europe and other global markets, while the US models (including the Galaxy S26 Ultra) stick to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

Of course, that depends on whether Samsung sticks to its old approach. If the Exynos 2600 really is that much better than its predecessors, it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung decides to roll it out in the US, too. Historically, Snapdragon has always delivered more raw power, while Exynos usually wins on efficiency – so it’ll be interesting to see how this new generation stacks up.

Early benchmarks show a massive jump

Recent benchmark leaks point to a big leap forward for Samsung’s 2nm chip. The Exynos 2600 reportedly scores higher than the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and even lands in the same ballpark as Apple’s M5 chip. If those numbers hold up, the Galaxy S26 models running the Exynos 2600 could see their biggest performance boost in years.

Samsung teasing the chip now suggests it’s gearing up for an imminent launch – possibly even before the month ends. The Galaxy S26 series itself is rumored to debut either next month in January or sometime in February, and Samsung typically launches its flagship chipset about a month ahead of the phones. So once the Exynos 2600 gets its official unveiling, we should also get a clearer picture of the Galaxy S26 release window.

Waiting to see if Samsung finally catches up

If there’s one thing mobile tech has taught us, it’s that Qualcomm almost always beats Samsung’s in-house chips. Every year, we hope the story will change, and every year, history reminds us otherwise. So even though Samsung is hyping the Exynos 2600 as a huge upgrade, I’m still a bit skeptical about whether it can truly outperform its main rival.

Still, nothing’s final until it ships inside a real phone. Once the Galaxy S26 series hits the market, we’ll finally be able to test the Exynos 2600 in the real world – and at that point, we’ll know if Samsung really pulled off a comeback. For now, we’re curious, optimistic, and just slightly cautious.