Galaxy S26 Leak Hints at 10-Core Exynos 2600 — But Is It Better?

Which chipset will power the Samsung Galaxy S26 series? Assuming Samsung continues using a dual chipset strategy, we can expect both the Exynos 2600 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Now, thanks to new benchmarks, we might have an idea of how well the Exynos 2600 will perform on the Galaxy S26.

Galaxy S26 powered by the Exynos 2600

According to a recent Geekbench sighting by tipster @Jukanlosreve, it seems that the chipset in question will feature a 10-core CPU configuration. For comparison, chipsets like the current Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite feature an 8-core CPU configuration. However, we’re not sure if having additional cores will make the Exynos 2600 more powerful.

Based on the breakdown, it is expected that the Exynos 2600 will feature one prime CPU. It is most likely the ARM Cortex-X935, which has clock speeds of 3.55GHz. It is expected to be accompanied by three performance cores, the ARM Cortex-A730, which will be clocked at 2.96GHz. Last but not least, there will be six mid CPU cores running at 2.4GHz.

As SamMobile notes, this seems to be similar to MediaTek’s more recent chipset, which does away with the need for efficiency CPU cores. The benchmarks show the Exynos 2600 scoring 2,155 points on single-core performance and 7,788 points for multi-core.

So, which is it?

We know there is some confusion right now on which chipset will power the Galaxy S26. According to the rumors, Samsung might use the Exynos 2600 for the base Galaxy S26 model. This means that for the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Edge, Samsung could use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

In fact, there was a recent report that suggests that Samsung could use a variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 that is made by its semiconductor division. Both Samsung and TSMC have been rumored to have snagged orders from Qualcomm for its chipset. However, there are some questions as to what the potential differences are.

It’s interesting because in the past, Samsung has actually used an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s chipset. Does this mean that Samsung is responsible for the overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2? Or is Samsung maybe using a lower-powered version because it will be cheaper to manufacture? Either way, take it with a grain of salt. We’ll probably have to wait until 2026 for all the official details.