All of the methods the Galaxy S26 variations are totally different

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The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 sequence is nearly upon us, and whereas the cellphone could also be doubling down on some new software program options, the sequence is reported to have an vital {hardware} change in retailer for us as effectively.

As in earlier years, Samsung reportedly has two chips lined up for the Galaxy S26 sequence, which differ by mannequin and area. Many international clients of the baseline and Plus handsets seem set to obtain a Samsung Exynos 2600 chip of their telephones. In the meantime, US clients, choose markets like China, and everybody who buys an Extremely worldwide will discover their cellphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This isn’t confirmed but, however it might line up with Samsung’s earlier releases.

Whereas we’ll have to attend till we have now each variants in hand to verify early efficiency expectations, we already know the official particulars of each flagship chips. So let’s dive into what’s totally different, what’s related, and what this implies for Galaxy followers and first-timers this yr. For a fast overview, listed here are the lower-level specs.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5Exynos 2600 CPU

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 2x Prime @ 4.6GHz6x Efficiency @ 3.62GHz

Exynos 2600 1x C1-Extremely @ 3.8GHz3x C1-Professional @ 3.25GHz6x C1-Professional @ 2.75GHz

SME?

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SME

Exynos 2600 SME2

RAM

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 LPDDR5X

Exynos 2600 LPDDR5X

GPU

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Adreno 840Snapdragon Recreation Tremendous ResolutionHigh Efficiency Reminiscence

Exynos 2600 Xclipse 960Exynos Neural Tremendous Sampling

NPU

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Hexagon

Exynos 2600 32K MAC NPU

Video decode

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1

Exynos 2600 H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1

Storage

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 UFS 4.1

Exynos 2600 UFS 4.1

Modem

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Snapdragon X85

Exynos 2600 N/A – exterior

Course of

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 TSMC 3nm N3P

Exynos 2600 Samsung 2nm GAA

Arm vs Arm CPUs duke it out

Proper up entrance, the Exynos versus Snapdragon debate facilities on the acquainted use of in-house Arm Cortex and Qualcomm’s customized Oryon CPU cores constructed on the Arm structure. Whereas Oryon has held the efficiency lead for some time now, our time testing the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 exhibits that the single-core efficiency of the newest Arm C1-Extremely will not be as far behind the third-gen Oryon massive core (someplace within the area of 10%). It seems that Arm has caught up with the core designs of its licensees.

Nonetheless, Samsung’s setup is clocked barely decrease than MediaTek’s powerhouse. The Exynos 2600 presents 1x C1-Extremely at 3.8GHz, 3x C1-Professional at 3.25GHz, and 6x C1-Professional at 2.75GHz. This means Exynos’ single-core efficiency is likely to be a way behind Snapdragon’s, however the further core rely may degree the taking part in discipline in multi-core and on a regular basis duties. For comparability, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has 2x Oryon Prime cores at 4.6GHz and 6x Efficiency cores at 3.65GHz. Nonetheless, these clocks may change barely if the Galaxy S26 sports activities one other “for Galaxy” variant of the 8 Elite Gen 5.

Will Exynos' AI tweaks be sufficient to catch Snapdragon's uncooked compute?

An equally fascinating however extra obscure distinction between the 2 chips is assist for CPU-level machine studying compute. Qualcomm’s Oryon cores assist Arm’s first-gen SME extension, whereas the Exynos 2600 comes with SME2. SME and SME2 use devoted cores that sit exterior the CPU clusters however are related to them, permitting them to crunch by means of AI directions sooner and extra effectively than a CPU alone.

The newer SME2 extension helps multi-vector directions, weight compression, and tiny binary networks. This permits lighter AI workloads, resembling text-to-speech or summarization fashions, to run sooner on the CPU with out booting up the devoted NPU, which ought to save on energy consumption and start-up latency.

In fact, Samsung will do its finest to make sure function parity throughout all its Galaxy S26 smartphones, so don’t anticipate these variations to translate into drastically totally different person experiences. Nonetheless, we might effectively see slight variations in efficiency and battery life throughout demanding apps and lighter AI workloads, which could barely favor Snapdragon on one hand and Exynos on the opposite.

Graphics and gaming

<img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 logo phone in hand" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 logo phone in hand" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Snapdragon-8-Elite-Gen-5-logo-phone-in-hand.jpg"/> Robert Triggs / Android Authority

One other vital architectural distinction between Exynos and Snapdragon is their alternative of graphics processor — the important thing part for rendering your favourite video games and even working some AI workloads.

Snapdragon sticks with its powerhouse Adreno, that includes its sliced structure and high-bandwidth reminiscence that increase its already industry-leading efficiency up a notch. Whether or not the compact cellphone type issue can push this GPU to its limits with out overheating is an ongoing dialogue. Samsung is onto its third-generation Xclipse mannequin constructed on AMD’s RDNA structure. Whereas we don’t know an terrible lot about both’s deeper workings, studies recommend that the newest Xclipse GPU strikes as much as a brand new RDNA structure with a notable increase to compute efficiency and a peak clock pace within the area of 980MHz — closing in on Qualcomm’s 1.2GHz peak this era (not that this comparability actually issues).

Which Galaxy S26 chip do you suppose is healthier? 11 votes

Exynos 2600

18%

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

55%

They're about the identical

27%

Samsung can be closing the hole on a number of different Qualcomm options. The chip debuts Exynos Neural Tremendous Sampling (ENSS) know-how, basically AI-based decision upscaling and body era, which ought to provide capabilities much like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Recreation Tremendous Decision, which doesn’t use AI so far as we’re conscious. Samsung additionally notes the brand new GPU boasts 50% sooner ray-tracing efficiency than its predecessor. Exynos was already very snappy in that regard, and that increase may effectively nudge it forward of Qualcomm’s 8 Elite Gen 5 in these admittedly area of interest eventualities.

Crystal ball gazing at efficiency is all the time a threat, however I’d wager that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will nonetheless come out simply forward in normal rasterization — because it’s had a wholesome lead right here for a number of generations now. Nonetheless, whether or not that truly interprets right into a significant efficiency leads for actual video games stays to be seen. In my expertise, final yr’s flagship processors can simply lock 60, 90, and even 120fps in the most well-liked Android video games, so this era might be overkill.

Different bits and items

<img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="SoC chipset processor on finger" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="SoC chipset processor on finger" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SoC-chipset-processor-on-finger.jpg"/> Robert Triggs / Android Authority

There are many different variations scattered throughout the chips, lots of that are fairly laborious to match immediately. Samsung says its NPU is twice as highly effective as final yr, which is little question powering a lot of the cellphone’s renewed concentrate on AI options. Likewise, Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU setup is outwardly 37% sooner than earlier than, suggesting that Exynos is as soon as once more closing the hole with its largest rival, however it’s very tough to know which can really come out forward.

The most recent Exynos additionally has one other trick up its sleeve. It’s constructed on Samsung’s cutting-edge 2nm GAA course of that, no less than on the floor, ought to be smaller and probably barely extra power-efficient. Nonetheless, evaluating nodes throughout producers is fraught with difficulties and inconsistencies, so it’s not a given if there’s a lot significant benefit right here both. Plus, TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing course of is extra mature and prone to have increased yields, which can enable Qualcomm to be that bit extra formidable with the efficiency of its design.

Talking of design, the Exynos 2600 doesn’t come paired with an built-in modem, which is often the extra environment friendly route. This implies the chip has the added silicon, engineering, and energy expense of connecting as much as separate Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, and different networking chips. As such, I wouldn’t place an enormous wager on the Exynos setup essentially being the extra power-efficient possibility. We’ll simply have to attend and see.

These are two very totally different chips however efficiency might not be miles aside.

Together with energy consumption and uncooked efficiency, endurance and stress-induced throttling might effectively be a defining issue. Samsung is anticipated to implement Warmth Move Block (HPB) know-how on the Exynos 2600 for superior warmth dissipation. Qualcomm isn’t anticipated to profit from it till next-gen’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The 8 Elite Gen 5 has been moderately scorching on handsets we’ve seen up to now, so this may very well be a key differentiator. We’ll simply must see in actual video games.

General, we're seemingly taking a look at two very totally different chips powering the Samsung Galaxy S26 worldwide. Characteristic- and architecture-wise, these is likely to be the furthest aside that the Exynos vs Snapdragon battle has ever been. And but, after a number of years lagging behind, indicators recommend that Samsung could also be closing no less than a number of the efficiency hole. A sooner CPU, revamped GPU, and impressive AI capabilities definitely sound promising on paper. We solely have a short while longer to attend to see simply how a lot, or little, the Exynos vs Snapdragon debate actually issues this yr.

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