Samsung is already preparing the next generation of its flagship smartphone processors, and the latest leak points to the Exynos 2600 making its debut inside the Galaxy S26 lineup. The new chip has appeared on benchmarking platform Geekbench, giving us an early look at its performance and configuration before Samsung makes anything official.
Spotted under the model number S5E9965, the Exynos 2600 is listed with a ten-core CPU setup. One high-performance core is clocked at 3.55GHz, three cores are tuned for performance at 2.96GHz, and six efficiency cores run at 2.4GHz. On Geekbench, this chip scored 2155 in the single-core test and 7788 in the multi-core run, which are impressive numbers considering this is likely still a prototype undergoing testing. These figures are expected to improve once the final version is optimised for commercial devices.
What stands out with this chip is its GPU, the Xclipse 960, developed in-house by Samsung. The listing also shows that the device used for testing was running Android 16 with 12GB RAM, suggesting that Samsung is pushing its hardware to support future Android versions and high memory configurations. This could mean the Galaxy S26 series may support up to 16GB RAM, catering to more demanding users and gamers.
If reports are accurate, the Exynos 2600 will feature in the Galaxy S26 series, but only in select markets like Europe. For other global markets, Samsung might continue its partnership with Qualcomm, using the Snapdragon lineup instead. This strategy mirrors what the company did with the Galaxy S25 series, which shipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC across all variants worldwide. However, the Exynos 2600 is Samsung’s attempt to reclaim ground in its chip division, especially after the Exynos 2500 debuted inside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched earlier this year.
The Exynos 2500 was Samsung’s first 3 nanometer chip and introduced notable performance improvements over its predecessor. With the Exynos 2600, Samsung aims to go even further. Industry watchers believe this new chip could bring faster speeds, better power efficiency, and stronger GPU performance, particularly for mobile gaming and multitasking.
As the Galaxy S26 series inches closer to launch, likely early next year, all eyes are on how Samsung balances the global variant strategy between Exynos and Snapdragon chips. While the Exynos 2600 may not power every Galaxy S26 model worldwide, its presence on Geekbench confirms that development is in full swing and that Samsung is ready to compete at the top end once again.
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