Samsung's Exynos 2600 is said to be the first chip built on the firm's advanced 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) process.
Samsung Galaxy S26 series is expected to be launched in early next year
Photo Credit: Samsung
Samsung's Galaxy S26 series is expected to launch early next year with upgrades over the current Galaxy S25 lineup. Three flagship smartphones are expected debut — the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro, Galaxy S26 Edge, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. While details about the next Galaxy S series smartphones haven't been officially confirmed, rumours about their chipset continue to emerge on the Web. Samsung could use its latest in-house Exynos chipset in its upcoming series. Samsung had used Qualcomm chipsets for its Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra models.
As per a report by FNN News (in Korean), Samsung Electronics has finalised development of the Exynos 2600 and is set to begin mass production by the end of this month. This is the company's first chip built on the advanced 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) process. Industry insiders suggest that the chip's performance validation could play a crucial role in shaping the global semiconductor foundry market landscape.
The report, citing industry sources, states that Samsung is highly confident in the capabilities of Exynos 2600. During a recent internal meeting, executives reportedly said that the Exynos 2600 delivers significantly better performance than its predecessor, the Exynos 2500.
The chip is also being strongly considered for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series, according to the report. Its launch could signal a potential turnaround for Samsung's system LSI and foundry business.
The Exynos 2600 could bring notable improvements in power efficiency and thermal management over its predecessor, with the latest Heat Pass Block (HPB) solution.
Recent Geekbench scores for what's believed to be the Exynos 2600 show a significant leap in performance. It is said to have scored 3,309 points in single-core and 11,256 in multi-core tests. The chip rivals Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset, which scored 3,393 points in the single core test and 11,515 points in the multi core test.
The report does not specify which exact models will feature the Exynos 2600. However, past leaks claimed that Samsung could pack the Galaxy S26 Pro and Galaxy S26 Edge with the Exynos 2600, while using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It is likely to set up a tight competition between Samsung's in-house silicon and Qualcomm's flagship.
Samsung may also continue its dual-chip strategy by reserving Exynos-powered devices for select areas, while others get Snapdragon variants. The entire Galaxy S25 series uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC.
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