We’re still on the Galaxy S26 chipset matter. This time, there’s a new rumour that makes things clearer. Rumours have it that the Exynos 2600 may ship only in Korea, while other markets use Snapdragon SoC.
Recently, we heard that Samsung was gearing up for a broader Exynos comeback, so we thought it would be widely available. The opposite seems to be the case. New reports suggest the company is quietly tightening its regional strategy and pulling back from a global rollout of its in-house chip.
This update is likely related how the Exynos 2600 is performing in development. The chip should use Samsung’s improved 3nm GAP process, with a custom CPU and a new Xclipse GPU made with AMD. Samsung believes this combination will offer better thermal stability, stronger on-device AI, and improved power management.
The thing is that these improvements may only be available to users in Samsung’s home market. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus in Korea will be powered by Exynos chip sets, while global variants will go with Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
It isn’t clear what Samsung’s reason for this shift may be. The company has been working to restore trust in its Exynos chips after past issues with battery life and heat. For the Exynos chip to make a better comeback, Samsung has to get it right By the time it goes global. Limiting the Exynos 2600 to Korea allows the company test the performance at home without receiving more criticism from global users.
There’s also the competition factor. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, with its new Oryon CPU, is a big upgrade. By using Snapdragon worldwide, Samsung aims to keep performance steady across all S26 models, especially in benchmarks and heat management, which the Exynos chip has problems with.
If this update turns out to be true, we are expecting the Galaxy S26 to launch with two different chips again — Samsung’s latest Exynos for Korean users and Qualcomm’s flagship for everyone else. While Samsung limiting the Exynos to just one country seems strange, we just have to await the final decision on this strategy.
