The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is ditching Snapdragon, and you should be ecstatic

It’s finally happened: after years of shipping Ultra models with only Snapdragon processors, Samsung is finally bringing back Exynos for the Galaxy S26 Ultra next year. This is, by all means, a massive win, not just for the company and its foundry, but also for everyone who’s thinking of buying this phone.

Why? Simple. The Exynos 2600 chipset knocks the socks off of all of its rivals, be it Snapdragon or Apple silicon.

A return to form with Galaxy S26 Ultra

There are some controversial design changes accompanying the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but a return to Exynos is a return to form. An Exynos processor hasn’t been seen in an Ultra model since the Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2022.

The reasons for this are many, though namely they consist of the following three:

• Exynos processors have remained slower
• Exynos processors have had heating problems
• Samsung Foundry has had yield troubles in the past

All of that is changing, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature (translated source) the Exynos 2600 in specific regions. And, perhaps for the first time ever, the consumers getting the Exynos variant will be the lucky ones.

The Exynos 2600 is awesome

Samsung Foundry has designed the Exynos 2600 using its 2 nm manufacturing process, which gives it a massive advantage over current 3 nm chipsets.

According to leaked performance scores and benchmarks, the Exynos 2600 is better than Apple’s current A19 Pro, which is used in the iPhone 17 Pro. The Exynos 2600 is a whopping six times faster in AI processing compared to the A19 Pro. It also beats Apple’s chip in multi-core performance by 15 percent, as well as in graphics processing by around 75 percent.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Exynos 2600 is better than the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is currently being used in top-of-the-line flagship smartphones. The Exynos 2600 is 30 percent better at AI processing compared to the Snapdragon chip, and 29 percent better at graphics processing.

Of course, the transition to 2 nm architecture has played a critical role in helping the Exynos chip become so good, and this could be the win that Samsung Foundry has been looking for for years.

Samsung has worked hard for this

Make no mistake, Samsung has worked hard and long for this day. Exynos has been subject to ridicule for years, and many used to say that the company should give up on its in-house processors altogether.

When working on the 3 nm Exynos 2500, Samsung Foundry faced countless issues. The yield rates were poor, and the chip could not be made ready in time to debut with the Galaxy S25 series. Instead, it had to make its first appearance alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 earlier this year.

There was a time when all hope seemed lost, and there was speculation that Samsung may have to shut down its foundry in the near future. This uncertainty regarding the company’s chip manufacturing skills also led to a shortage of clients, and Samsung was forced to offer very favorable rates. Samsung Foundry was trapped in a vicious cycle from where no escape seemed possible.

The 2 nm Exynos 2600 has achieved something that I have wanted to see happen for a long time. I still truly believe that Samsung can have its own Apple silicon moment if it can reliably perfect Exynos manufacturing each year for its flagship releases.

While the stigma around Exynos chips still exists, and will likely stick around for quite a while, the company can prove its capabilities with the Exynos 2600. If this chip performs as good as its leaked benchmark scores show, then I think that we’re about to see a resurgence of Samsung Foundry’s business, and Exynos as a whole. And I’m all for it.

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