Exynos 2600 clears another milestone before imminent release alongside Galaxy S26

Samsung has started mass-producing prototypes of its next-gen smartphone SoC, the Exynos 2600. It is tipped to power the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ next year. Like the Galaxy S24 trio, the Ultra version, in this case the Galaxy S26 Ultra, will be powered by a Snapdragon SoC. However, it is tipped to be a regular Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and not a For Galaxy variant usually found on Samsung phones.

The report adds Samsung is still trying to hit 50% yields for the Exynos 2600. It is slated to be the world's first smartphone SoC to be manufactured on Samsung's SF2 node. A previous report estimated it was at around 40%, that too with some performance compromises. Actual mass-production can only start once yields are above 60%, and that is unlikely to happen until later this year.

We've seen this story play out with last year's Exynos 2500. While it did tape-out at a reasonable time for the Galaxy S25, the chip had to be pushed back to a mid-2025 release due to poor yields on it SF3 node. There's a good chance this could happen again this time because SF2 is said to be a rebadged SF3 variant (SF3P). The Exynos 2500 is slated to power the Galaxy Z Flip 7, but the more premium Galaxy Z Fold 7 will continue to use a Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.

As of now, it is far too early to judge how the Exynos 2600 will fare against its peers. If the Exynos 2500 is anything to go by, it has a lot of catching up to do, especially against the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and MediaTek Dimensity 9500, both of which are slated to bring forth some impressive generation-over-generation improvements.