- We have clues about the Galaxy S26 CPU selections
- A combination of Exynos and Snapdragon is now expected
- The choice of chipset varies by country.
Every time Samsung launches a new Galaxy flagship series, we expect to see which one will use Qualcomm chipsets and which one will go with Samsung’s own Exynos brand, and a new leak may have given us the answer for the Galaxy S26 range of phones.
According to evidence seen by the SamMobile team, the Samsung S26 Pro (the standard model) and S26 Plus will use the Exynos 2600, while the S26 Edge and S26 Ultra will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.
However, SamMobile’s report also claims that the Snapdragon CPU “may” be used in all models sold in the US and China, which is a strategy Samsung has used before (although it has used so many strategies in the past, it’s hard to be sure).
Samsung certainly saves money by using its own Exynos chips, but there are questions about whether or not they can match the performance levels of their Qualcomm counterparts – questions that will no doubt be raised again in 2026.
New year, new phones
You might be surprised to see the Galaxy S26 Plus mentioned there, if you saw rumors that the model had been canceled in favor of the Galaxy S26 Edge. However, more recently it has been suggested that the Plus model will be back in production.
As for the name change from the Galaxy S26 to the Galaxy S26 Pro, it doesn’t appear to be much more than a branding exercise. It will remain the most affordable of the phone series, while the Ultra will once again be the model with more power and more features.
Earlier this year we saw the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, which featured Snapdragon processors, reportedly due to production issues with the Exynos 2500 chipset, which eventually appeared in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7.
We’ll have to wait and see what Samsung decides to do next – if it sticks to its usual schedule, the four expected Galaxy S26 phones will be revealed sometime in January, and we’ll bring you all the announcements here.
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