Galaxy S26 Ultra to Run Snapdragon Globally, Price Hike Inevitable

Samsung’s next flagship lineup, the Galaxy S26 series, is shaping up to bring both continuity and change. While the company is reportedly gearing up for a late January 2026 launch, it seems to have finalized one major decision. Snapdragon may once again power the Galaxy S26 Ultra globally, while Exynos will return in the S26 and S26+ models.

Exynos returns to Samsung flagships, but not for the Ultra

According to a new industry report from South Korea, Samsung has resolved the development issues with the Galaxy S26 series. It is now ready to reintroduce the new flagships in January next year. More importantly, its in-house Exynos 2600 chip will power the S26 and S26+ in most regions, including the domestic market. However, the Ultra model will reportedly remain Snapdragon-exclusive.

“Samsung Electronics will only include the Exynos 2600 in the base model and plus model, and the Ultra model will be equipped with a Qualcomm mobile application processor (AP),” an insider familiar with Samsung’s plans revealed (via ChosunBiz). A separate leak on Telegram also recently hinted at the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powering the S26 Ultra globally.

This comes shortly after rumors that all three Galaxy S26 models may come with the new Exynos chip in most markets. Of course, we still do not have official confirmation. However, it’s about time Samsung finalizes everything and starts mass production of its new flagships, more so if a January launch is set in stone.

Since the Ultra flagships remain its best-selling and most influential smartphone, the company may not want to risk shipping the Galaxy S26 Ultra with a newly refined in-house chip. Unfortunately, this could make the phone costly. The Korean media says a price hike is “inevitable” due to increased component costs. Expect more details to surface soon.

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