Another Galaxy S26 leak says Exynos is back - because we didn't learn from last time

Galaxy S25 Ultra. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

A new leak by a trusted tipster indicates that the Galaxy S26 may come with Exynos 2600 in some regions, a known Samsung strategy that was skipped for the Galaxy S25 series.

Samsung has been equipping some of its flagships (in most regions) with its own chips, while Qualcomm's flagship chips have been reserved for the U.S. and a couple of other markets for quite some time now. This year, Samsung couldn't make enough Exynos 2500 chips in time for the Galaxy S25, so the entire lineup sports the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

But more and more rumors are indicating that this scenario won't repeat next year. Tipster Jukanlosreve is also now chiming in, and his words contain a level of certainty that corroborates earlier reports.

Earlier, there were reports that Samsung is working quite hard to make sure the Exynos 2600 has a high yield rate in its 2nm fabrication process. The tipster, however, claims the chip volume will be limited, and compares the situation to the Exynos 990.

This sounds a bit strange though. The Exynos 990 was the chip used worldwide for the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 20 series - except for the U.S., Canada, and China. This isn't really a situation with a limited chip volume.

It would make more sense that the Galaxy S26's situation with Exynos and Snapdragon may be more similar to that of the Galaxy S22. The Galaxy S22 was powered by the Snapdragon chip everywhere except Europe.

The scenario that we've seen the most in leaks is different: the Ultra model is expected to rock Qualcomm's chip worldwide, while the other models may come with Exynos in most countries. Of course, it's quite early to tell exactly what Exynos strategy Samsung may employ next year.

Samsung's choice to use its own chipsets in some of the Galaxy S models has been divisive. Ever since the Galaxy S20, people have been frowning at the Exynos variant of the premium flagship. Then, there was a noticeable difference in performance in favor of Qualcomm's chip.

These differences have been shrinking over the years, but one can't help but wonder if the Exynos 2600 will measure up to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (or however it ends up being called). We'll have to wait for benchmarks to leak to have an idea of that.

In the meantime, rumors about the Galaxy S26 phones are already creeping up from the Internet's secret corners. We've heard that the Galaxy S26 Ultra may bring variable aperture back, a fancy camera feature that gives photography enthusiasts more creative control over their photos.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra may finally sport a bigger battery - rumors say 5,500mAh - which would be great in a market that's slowly (or not so slowly) evolving towards phones sporting huge battery cells thanks to silicon-carbon tech. Other reports are suggesting even bigger batteries for the Galaxy S26 series, but we'll have to wait and see for that.

The Galaxy S26 series is expected to be officially announced sometime in the beginning of next year (January, or February), which is obviously plenty of months away at the moment. All things are subject to change with this many months away from the reveal, so take everything with a grain of salt.

The flagship trio will have the mission to face Apple's iPhone 17 series (expected in September this year). The iPhone 17 series may bring a huge design change if the (strange but repeatedly coming up) rumors are accurate. Also, Samsung has the upcoming Pixel 10 series to watch out for as well, although the Tensor G5 may drag those down before Samsung even makes a move.