New Galaxy S26 rumor doubles down on the return of the Exynos chip
Could this be a big mistake?
A new rumor seems to confirm that Samsung will reuse Exynos processors for the Galaxy S26 series in some markets.
This information comes from leaker Junkanlosreve, who posted on the X website that the Exynos 2600 processor, manufactured by Samsung’s semiconductor subsidiary, is “planned to be used in the S26 phone.”
However, the leaker adds that “due to its low productivity, it will likely be used primarily in European models.” If this news is true, it would mark a return to Samsung’s traditional model of shipping its flagship phones with Exynos processors in some countries and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors in others, such as the United States.
The Galaxy S25 series launched globally with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and many hoped the same would apply to the Galaxy S26 series and the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. However, this news has dashed those hopes, as Junkanlosreve claims that “Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor has a clear performance advantage over the Exynos,” according to an industry source.
Samsung could be changing its mind… again
We first heard this same rumor in March, again from Junkanlosreve, which again stated that the Galaxy S26 would come with an Exynos processor. However, due to the processor’s limited size, it would only be available in the European market, similar to the Exynos 990. This refers to when Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 series in 2020 with the Exynos 990 processor outside of the US, Canada, and China, where these markets received phones with the Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus chipsets.
Given that Samsung has the privilege of designing and building its own chips, it makes sense that it would want to use them in its own phones whenever possible. But while there were rumors that the Exynos 2500 chip was being developed for the Galaxy S25 series, those phones ended up launching with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor worldwide.
As a result, Samsung Semiconductor’s LSI business reportedly lost around $400 million, according to Junkanlosreve. This is undoubtedly something Samsung will want to avoid repeating in future releases.
While the Galaxy S26’s two-tiered performance may be disappointing for many, Samsung could still make many improvements to enhance the Galaxy S26’s appeal. For example, we’ve heard that Samsung may add silicon-carbon batteries to the S26, as seen in the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Pro. These batteries have a higher energy density than standard lithium-ion batteries, meaning they can hold more charge in the same physical space.
Please take this rumor with a grain of salt, as Junkanlosreve has a somewhat mixed history of accurate leaks. Additionally, Samsung still has a long way to go before it even announces its next flagship Galaxy series, which is expected to be announced in early 2026. Instead, the company’s main focus will likely be on the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, which is rumored to take place in July and is expected to include the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip.
