Samsung Galaxy S26 report: in-house Exynos 2600 for S26 base, Plus, Qualcomm chip for S26 Ultra

Samsung will only be powering its next-gen Galaxy S26 base and S26 Plus models with its in-house next-gen Exynos 2600 processor, while its flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

In a new report from Korean outlet Chosun, Samsung has made some changes to its Galaxy S26 lineup after rumors that said the company would be making a new Galaxy S26 Edge and not a new Galaxy S26 Plus, but after lackluster sales of the thinner S25 Edge, the plans for the S26 Edge were scrapped, and the S26 Plus will return.

• Read more: Samsung's 'AI-focused' Galaxy Unpacked event: Galaxy S26 on Feb 25
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A source that is familiar with Samsung said: "As the Edge was removed and the Plus model added, the hardware verification period lengthened and the launch was almost delayed, but this issue has been resolved, making a February launch next year possible".

Backing that up, according to Hana Securities, in August 2025 that there were only 1.31 million sales of the S25 Edge, while the S25 Plus sold 5.05 million units, seeing S25 Edge sales a massive 74% lower than the S25 Plus. This is the reason the S26 Edge is not happening, and the S26 Plus will continue on, after rumors that the S26 Plus wouldn't be happening.

• Read more: Samsung's next-gen Exynos 2600: 59% more efficient than Apple A19 Pro thanks to 2nm GAA process

Another industry official who requested anonymity said that Samsung would only be using its new in-house Exynos 2600 processor in the base and Plus models, with the flagship S26 Ultra using a Qualcomm mobile application processor (AP). Samsung launched all of its new Galaxy S25 smartphones using a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which cost more than an Exynos chip, but changes it with the S26 and S26 Plus using its new Exynos 2600 chip.

As Samsung powers more generations of its smartphones with in-house Exynos chips that are cheaper to use, as Samsung Foundry is fabricating new 2nm chips using its in-house semiconductor facilities, with a fab in Taylor, Texas, USA. We should expect to see Samsung use its next-gen Exynos processor inside of its next-gen Galaxy S27 Ultra, as well as the base S27 and S27 Ultra in 2027.