Exynos 2600 might make a comeback with the Galaxy S26 series thanks to promising SF2 yields

According to a report from The Bell, Samsung's third-gen 3 nm node (SF2) is off to a decent start. The '2' in its name might imply it is a 2 nm-class chip, but it isn't. Initial tests have resulted in 30% yields, which is not bad for a test run, given its predecessor struggled to get to that figure much later in its life span. Apparently, the chip in question was the Exynos 2600.

If Samsung manages to get its SF2 yields to around ~60% by the time it enters mass production in late 2025, there's a good chance of next year's Galaxy S26 phones launching with an Exynos 2600. Plus, it might ditch an AMD Radeon iGPU for an in-house solution. That said, the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 8 might still stick to Qualcomm. We'll have a rough idea about how the Exynos 2600 fares once the Exynos 2500 debuts alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 later this year.

For now, we know Samsung has internally codenamed the Exynos 2600 "Tethys". On paper, it should have a node advantage against Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and MediaTek's Dimensity 9500, both of which are tipped to be made on TSMC's N3P node. But in the real world, TSMC has historically come out ahead. The playing field would have been more level had TSMC accepted Samsung's offer to manufacture Exynos chips, but that prospect got shut down pretty early.

SF2's success is critical for Samsung, as it will determine the future of its foundry division. The company has already mothballed some trailing edge (4 nm and below) nodes due to low demand. So far, SF2 has two confirmed clients: PFN and Ambarella. There's a chance Qualcomm might come back to Samsung Foundry because its name was notable absent from the list of TSMC N2 customers that included the likes of Apple, Intel, AMD and Nvidia.