It has finally happened, at long last. Samsung has apparently stabilized its 2 nm manufacturing process enough that its next in-house chip, the Exynos 2600, has entered mass production, and that too ahead of schedule!
The company struggled with its 3 nm Exynos 2500, which was supposed to debut alongside the Galaxy S25 phones. Instead, Samsung had to resort to using the Snapdragon 8 Elite across its flagship phones, regardless of model or region. The Exynos 2500 came out much later with the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
2 nm Exynos 2600 or 3 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy S26?
Exynos 2600!
16.38%
Snapdragon every time!
65.85%
Either will do
17.77%
After the Exynos 2500, Samsung began work on its 2 nm manufacturing process with its full, undivided attention. The company was determined to perfect the Exynos 2600 before the launch of the Galaxy S26 phones in 2026, and it seems to have done so.
According to a new report (translated source), the 2 nm Exynos 2600 chip has entered mass production ahead of schedule. While Samsung Foundry’s yields still remain on the lower side, they’re apparently feasible enough for the company to go all in on Exynos. This step has all but confirmed that the Galaxy S26 will mark a heroic return to Exynos, at least if the Exynos 2600 benchmarks are to be believed.
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Exynos 2500 debuted with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. | Image credit — PhoneArena
It is currently believed that the use of Exynos across the Galaxy S26 phones will vary by region, and that the South Korean and American markets will get the Snapdragon variants like before. As to which models will use Exynos over Snapdragon, various conflicting reports paint different pictures, so no concrete conclusion can be drawn just yet.
Samsung isn’t just looking to bring its 2 nm Exynos chip to its own phones: the company has taken a very bold decision recently and slashed 2 nm wafer prices massively. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) may still enjoy much larger market share, but Samsung Foundry is doing all it can to dethrone it.
However, despite the return of a much stronger Exynos chip, the Galaxy S26 phones may face some resistance due to their redesigns. The Galaxy S26 Edge redesign and the Galaxy S26 Ultra redesign leave a lot to be desired.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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