Samsung Galaxy S26 may feature this Snapdragon chip and not Exynos after all

India Today

23-07-2025

Until now, there have been conflicting rumours about whether Samsung would use Snapdragon or Exynos chipsets in its next-generation Galaxy S26 series. Recent reports suggested the company might ditch Snapdragon entirely in favour of Exynos. However, the latest development points back towards a Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S26 — but with an interesting twist. To recall, Samsung last used the Exynos 2400 chipset in the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus, while the S24 Ultra was powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. As for this year's Galaxy S25 lineup, all phones are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.advertisementNow, a new leak hints that Samsung could once again use Snapdragon chips in the upcoming Galaxy S26, but not the usual version everyone is expecting. According to information shared on Weibo by tipster Digital Chat Station, Samsung might actually be manufacturing its own version of Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip. Interestingly, this version won't be made by TSMC like the original but could instead be produced by Samsung's own foundries.This adds an unexpected twist to the chipset debate. Technically, Samsung wouldn't be using Exynos, but it also wouldn't be going with the same Snapdragon chip as everyone else. Instead, the Galaxy S26 series might feature a Samsung-made Snapdragon chip with a different model number — SM8850S, compared to TSMC's SM8850 version. At this point, it's unclear whether there will be any performance differences between the two. But it's likely that Samsung's version will have to follow Qualcomm's design closely to keep things standardised across markets.
That said, even if there are minor performance variations, they may not make a big difference in day-to-day use. Samsung has taken a lot of criticism over the years for its Exynos chips lagging behind Snapdragon counterparts, especially when it comes to battery life and sustained performance. So, this move might be a way to avoid that backlash while still keeping production partially in-house and costs under control.Aside from the chipset details, there are other rumours which suggest changes in the Galaxy S26 lineup itself. Samsung could be planning to scrap the 'Plus' model in favour of a new Galaxy S26 Edge. Details are still vague, but early leaks suggest a slightly redesigned display for the Ultra model as well, possibly with even thinner bezels than the S25 Ultra. Some reports also mention 16GB RAM becoming standard on the Ultra variant, regardless of storage size.It's still early days, and the Galaxy S26 launch is a while away. We suggest taking this information with a healthy grain of salt and stay tuned to our website for all the latest leaks and rumours around Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S devices.- Ends