I mean, it’s a bit cumbersome to take in at once, but let’s try to break it down. First, we talk about the Samsung-made Snapdragon SoC, which the company wants to use for the 2026 Galaxy Z Fold series, and secondly, we’d discuss the Exynos 2600, which was supposed to be used throughout the 2026 Galaxy S26 series, but somehow, it might not be the case any longer. Too many twists in the Samsung-Qualcomm-Snapdragon-Exynos stories, but here are the facts!
Will Qualcomm Chips Made by Samsung Power Galaxy Devices in 2026?
First, we all know Qualcomm makes Snapdragon chips, and they (Snapdragon chips) are regarded as the finest semiconductors for mobile devices. Samsung has been using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips for the top-tier variants of its high-end models, mostly the Galaxy S Series and Galaxy Z Fold series.
Now, after a long partnership, Samsung sought to produce these Snapdragon chips for its devices. These Snapdragon chips are certainly going to use Qualcomm technologies, but would be made by Samsung, in Samsung’s foundry. So, Samsung was going to use these in-house-made 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipsets for its 2026 flagships; however, rumours had it that the production of these chips had been halted.
Well, there’s the twist: the production didn’t end. In fact, Samsung has sent samples of these 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipsets to Qualcomm for “examination” and “evaluation.” Qualcomm will look into these Samsung-made Snapdragon chips, and if they approve of it, afterward, Samsung might just start using these in-house-built Snapdragon SoCs (powered by Qualcomm techs) for its new devices.
Regarding using these Samsung-made Snapdragon chips for the 2026 Galaxy Z Fold series, well, there have not been official confirmations yet, as Qualcomm hasn’t responded to Samsung on whether the samples sent to them passed the benchmarks—only then would we see official reports on if Samsung would forge ahead in using these in-house Snapdragon SoC, still.
For now, Qualcomm has officially released its latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which uses TSMC‘s 3nm process (not Samsung’s 2nm; notice the difference), and there are speculations that Qualcomm will equally release a “for Galaxy” special edition of this SoC for Samsung’s Galaxy flagships scheduled to launch next year.
Were you able to flow with that? Okay, good. Now, let’s talk about the Exynos 2600, which is expected to be in the S26 series.
Is Samsung Using In-House Exynos 2600 SoC for its Galaxy S26 Series Instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon?
Initially, leaks and rumors had it that Samsung would exclusively use the Exynos 2600 chip throughout its S26 lineup, ditching Qualcomm SoCs. But, in recent developments, Qualcomm says to all those who think in that line, to think again.
Qualcomm has recently announced that it expects to power up to 75% of the Galaxy S26 series, making Snapdragon the dominant compute platform in Samsung’s 2026 flagship lineup. This, of course, doesn’t stop Samsung from continuing with the development of its own Exynos 2600 SoC, which might be used in some variants of the 2026 Galaxy models for specific regions.
Samsung’s Galaxy flagship franchise has long relied on a two-supplier model: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips for many global markets (notably the U.S. and China) and Samsung’s in-house Exynos chips for others. But Samsung has earlier hinted that it’d be using more of the Exynos SoC for its 2026 models. However, Qualcomm, in a recent publication, has also hinted that it is going to power up to 75% of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy models.
So, yeah, Qualcomm chips would still power the upcoming Samsung Galaxy models in 2026. The in-house Exynos SoC will still be used as always—powering global variants that are not to be sold in the US and China. Not like the Exynos chips are not good; they are actually very good and have continuously performed well in benchmarks; Samsung has simply not “perfected” the optimizations.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon vs Samsung’s Exynos SoC
For quite a decade now, Samsung has split its flagship SoC sourcing: Qualcomm for the U.S./China; Exynos for Europe, Korea, and others. Samsung has simultaneously invested heavily to close the technical gap between the two SoCs, including making deals with AMD and GAA process tech.
When it comes to flagship smartphones, Qualcomm SoC is widely recognized in certain regions are a key decider. So, Samsung continues to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC to satisfy those regions while continuously building up its in-house SoC. Quite soon, the Exynos will become the sole SoC across Samsung flagships.
Currently, Samsung Exynos 2600 is positioned as a higher-performance 2026 SoC that could be used in base and Plus models in select regions, while the Ultra variant will still use Snapdragon for maximum single-thread and GPU competitiveness. So, the Exynos stands as a credible alternative for Samsung flagships, not necessarily a downgrade.
Conclusion
Samsung hasn’t used its Exynos SoC on its recent flagship Galaxy S models, whether it’s the base variant or the top-tier Ultra variant. The Galaxy S25 series had a Snapdragon SoC across all models.
However, for the S26 series, Samsung earlier hinted at introducing its Exynos SoC, and Qualcomm has further said that they’re looking to power about 75% of the S26, which implies that Samsung is now looking to start using its Exynos SoC for its flagship.
Exynos is not yet considered to be at par with Snapdragon; so, seeing it on the high-end Galaxy S models might deter people from buying the device, especially performance-centric smartphone users. However, all these remain speculations and rumors; official reports will come forth as the launch date, February 2026, approaches.
