Samsung Exynos 2600

Samsung Exynos 2600

For Samsung, the Exynos 2600 is more than just another flagship chip refresh. It is the company's first 2 nm mobile processor and at the same time an attempt to finally remove the doubts around the Exynos line after several unsuccessful generations. The chip is aimed at the Galaxy S26 series, which is expected to launch in January 2026.

Architecture and process technology

The Exynos 2600 was originally designed as a showcase for Samsung Foundry's 2 nm GAA process.

Key hardware points:

• 2 nm process with GAA transistors

• 10-core CPU with a 1+3+6 layout

• a separate modem moved outside the main die to free up area for CPU and GPU

• integrated next generation Xclipse 960 graphics

Moving the modem off-die is important: in previous Exynos generations the modem occupied a noticeable part of the die and made power and heat routing more complicated. Now Samsung has more freedom in arranging compute blocks and cooling.

CPU: configuration and real frequencies

The final core configuration of the Exynos 2600 looks like this:

• 1x 3.8 GHz - Cortex-X930

• 3x 3.26 GHz - Cortex-A730

• 6x 2.76 GHz - Cortex-A730S

All 10 cores belong to relatively large architectures: there is no separate block of tiny cores like Cortex-A520. The six A730S cores can be considered efficiency oriented, but in terms of performance they are closer to "medium" cores than to classical low power cores.

Performance in benchmarks

In Geekbench 6 the Exynos 2600 scores about:

• 3455 points in single-core

• 11621 points in multi-core

In practice this means:

• in single-core performance the Exynos 2600 comes very close to the best Android chips

• in multi-core performance it is noticeably faster than the Exynos 2500 and reaches the level of current top Snapdragon and Dimensity SoCs

For the user this translates into a responsive interface, heavy apps without noticeable pauses, and a good margin for background tasks (game + messengers, camera, streaming music, etc.).

Xclipse 960 graphics: focused on long loads

Graphics are handled by the Xclipse 960. Based on early tests and reports it offers:

• 8 compute units (CU)

• frequencies up to around 1.3-1.4 GHz on engineering samples

• theoretical performance in the multi-teraflop range

• support for fast LPDDR6X/LPDDR5X memory

Sources differ on what architecture Xclipse 960 is based on: some speak of a derivative of RDNA4, others claim it is already a fully in-house Samsung design. Officially the company has not yet disclosed the exact architecture.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad Light the GPU scores roughly 3135 points at about 23 FPS and beats the Adreno 830 from Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

The important part is not only the "peak", but also stability: thanks to moderate frequencies and a design that tolerates heat better, Xclipse 960 shows much smaller FPS drops in stress tests compared to previous Exynos generations.

For gaming this gives:

• stable 60 fps in heavy titles at high settings

• a real chance of 90-120 fps in well-optimized shooters and MOBAs

• a noticeable margin for future demanding scenes and ray tracing features

NPU and AI: six times faster than A19 Pro

The most aggressive marketing around the Exynos 2600 is tied to AI. According to internal tests already discussed by industry media, the Exynos 2600 NPU:

• is more than 6 times faster than the neural engine in Apple A19 Pro

• is about 30 percent ahead of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in AI performance

• while the chip itself is on average about 14 percent faster than A19 Pro in multi-core CPU and up to about 75 percent faster in GPU tasks

Yes, these are still leaks and internal measurements rather than independent reviews, but the trend is clear: Samsung is betting that the key smartphone features in 2026 will be built around on-device AI.

In practice this means:

• voice assistants and translation running locally and reacting faster

• more advanced camera modes (night, portrait, smart blur, object removal) without constantly sending frames to the cloud

• generative features directly on the phone (images, some text, video effects)

Camera and multimedia

Samsung has not yet fully disclosed the ISP specifications, but reported figures include:

• support for sensors up to 320 MP

• simultaneous operation with several high-resolution modules

• 8K video recording with improved HDR and advanced tone mapping

Combined with the powerful NPU this should bring a noticeable leap in computational photography:
faster multi-frame stacking, cleaner separation of subject and background, fewer artefacts in night shots and zoom.

Power efficiency and thermals

The 2 nm GAA process by itself provides a significant reduction in leakage and better energy efficiency compared to 3 and 4 nm. But Samsung goes further and adds proprietary thermal solutions, including Heat Pass Block (HPB) technology to remove heat more effectively from hot areas of the die.

Internal tests that have made their way into the press promise:

• up to roughly 59 percent better energy efficiency compared to A19 Pro

• smoother behavior of the chip under long gaming loads (fewer sharp frequency drops)

If this is confirmed in retail Galaxy S26 devices, the Exynos 2600 has a real chance to finally get rid of the "hot and power hungry" reputation.

Where we will see the Exynos 2600

Most reports agree that the Exynos 2600 will be the heart of the Galaxy S26 lineup:

• Galaxy S26 and S26+ in Europe, South Korea and several other markets will ship with the Exynos 2600

• roughly half of all S26 series shipments globally will be based on this chip

• in some markets (primarily the USA) the flagships will still be released with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

• the S26 Ultra story is still open: some sources mention only Snapdragon, others allow Exynos 2600 versions for Europe and Korea

For Samsung this is not only a technological, but also a financial decision: an in-house chip reduces dependence on Qualcomm and gives better control over margins in top-end smartphones.

Summary

The Exynos 2600 looks like the most ambitious Samsung mobile chip in many years:

• modern 2 nm GAA process

• 10-core CPU with high clocks: 1x 3.8 GHz - Cortex-X930, 3x 3.26 GHz - Cortex-A730, 6x 2.76 GHz - Cortex-A730S

• powerful Xclipse 960 GPU with serious performance headroom

• NPU that, according to early data, is many times faster than Apple A19 Pro and clearly ahead of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

• strong focus on power efficiency and stability under load

The remaining key question is how well all this will work in real Galaxy S26 phones with thin bodies, limited cooling and real-world usage patterns like "game + camera + online services". But even now it is clear that the Exynos 2600 gives Samsung a chance not only to catch up, but in some aspects to overtake competitors in the 2026 generation.