It seems that Samsung is about to make a blockbuster comeback to the top of the chip industry. The company may have a record of the most powerful processor in their history with the new Exynos 2600, as it will reportedly show “record-breaking” performance gains for both graphics and artificial intelligence, as per leaked information.
Semiconductor accuracy-oriented tipster @Jukanlosreve reveals that the Exynos 2600 is expected to hugely increase GPU and NPU power. The improvement in the power of the GPU and NPU will be so great that the new chip will not only outmatch Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but will also outclass Apple’s A19 Pro. These numbers, if real, mean that the new processor might be utilized in the Galaxy S26 series whole range of devices, not just in the base model as was anticipated earlier.
Informative Ice Universe has also hinted at Samsung being in the mood for a wider rollout. But in some areas of the world, Snapdragon processors will still be installed in devices, following the company’s regional split pattern, which is quite long-standing.
Performance Highlights from Korean Sources
- Neural Processing Unit (NPU): Six times faster than that of iPhone 17 Pro using Apple A19 Pro
- AI tasks: About 30% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- CPU performance: Multi-core tests showed up to 14% more performance.
- GPU performance: Approximately 75% faster than A19 Pro and 29% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Global Chip Distribution
There are rumors that Samsung’s strategy is to almost equally split the production of Exynos 2600 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with the latter going to:
- Snapdragon: USA, China, and Japan
- Exynos: South Korea, Europe, and other international regions
It is worth noting that Samsung’s foundries, while working on two processors, are said to be using a 2-nanometer GAA process and the Exynos 2600 is likely to be the first one to get the advantage from it. Technically, this implies that any of the Galaxy S26 devices could be equipped with silicon that is made by Samsung–either with the Exynos or Qualcomm Snapdragon label.
Galaxy S26 Lineup Changes
Minor branding changes are happening to the next Galaxy S26 series as well:
- Perhaps the S26 Pro will just be renamed Galaxy S26.
- There is a rumor that the S26 Edge model is no longer going to be made.
- The S26+ is going to be the continuance of the lineup.
- The S26 Ultra is going on as the flagship model.
A Turning Point for Samsung
2026 could be a major turning point for Samsung if the current rumors are true. After a couple of years of being behind Apple and Qualcomm in chip performance, the company is now about to be one of the industry leaders again—thanks to its own silicon innovation.
