Galaxy S26 Series Could Go All-In on Exynos in Most Regions: Rumor

Things looked quite different a year ago when we were talking about the Galaxy S25 series. Repeated reports about the Exynos 2500’s troubled development had almost confirmed that Samsung would go all in on Snapdragon. But the Galaxy S26 series could tell a very different story. Backed by executive comments and performance leaks, it seems the Exynos 2600 might be coming after all.

Whether you get an Exynos or Snapdragon Galaxy S26 will depend on your region

A tipster who goes by @kro_roe on X claims that Samsung plans to use the Exynos 2600 for the Galaxy S26 series in most markets outside the US, China, and a few others. The tipster also mentions that there’s a strong chance South Korea will get the Exynos 2600 variant as well. What makes this especially interesting is that it may not be limited to the base models. The tipster suggests the Galaxy S26 Ultra could feature the Exynos 2600 too.

Of course, you may want to take these with a pinch of salt. But so far, we’ve heard that the Exynos 2600 could finally find a market for itself. Based on the leak, you can expect key regions including — India, Europe, etc. — to get the Exynos 2600-powered Galaxy S26 series. Folks in the US, however, may see the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powering the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra.

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A press release distributed after the quarterly earnings call noted a key detail regarding the future of Exynos. “In 2026, the System LSI Business plans to strengthen the competitiveness of the Exynos processor for key flagship models.” It’s not hard to see what the company might be referring to, even without spelling it out explicitly.

Meanwhile, during its own quarterly earnings call, Qualcomm stated that it expects to power three out of every four Galaxy S26 units. In numbers, that’s roughly a 75% split between Exynos and Snapdragon. It sounds ambitious, but it’s not entirely out of the question. If Apple can quietly build its own modems, well, anything’s possible.