Samsung is all set to use Exynos 2600 in its upcoming Galaxy S26 series and the brand has so far claimed a significant victory over its rivals in leaked benchmarks. According to new data, the chipset could reign over Qualcomm and MediaTek in Ray-Tracing performance.
Exynos 2600 leaves Qualcomm and MediaTek in the dust
Spotted first by SamMobile on PowerBoard Vitro GPU benchmark, the Xclipse 960 GPU inside the Samsung Exynos 2600 secured the top spot with a score of 8,321 points. It zoomed past Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (7,649 points) and Dimensity 9500 (7,075 points).
This implies that the Xclipse 960 is around 9% and 18% faster than its Qualcomm and MediaTek counterparts, respectively, with a difference of around 700 and 1,300 points. On paper, this translates to the Exynos 2600 having a more powerful GPU that can accurately reflect back the lights and shadows with Ray-Tracing enabled.
As for the sudden spike in performance, it could be attributed to AMD's RDNA 4 architecture, which the Xclipse 960 is based on. Exynos chipsets historically haven't been the greatest in terms of gaming performance, but RDNA 4 can effectively flip the script and make it THE go-to chipset for gaming.
Another factor driving the large scores could be Samsung using HPB (Heat Path Block) technology for more effective cooling. The technology essentially uses a copper-based thermal plate that sits above the processor, allowing heat to dissipate faster and more effectively.
Specifications-wise, the Exynos 2600 is a 10-core processor that uses ARM's latest ARMv9.3 cores clocked at 3.8 GHz. It boasts a 1+3+6 core configuration and is manufactured on Samsung's 2nm GAA process. Samsung claims the chipset offers 39% better overall performance over Exynos 2500.
The chipset is expected to power the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ in Europe and most of Asia. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, on the other hand, will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
These benchmarks suggest that Samsung's collaboration with AMD has matured and could finally give Galaxy S26 series a potential edge in next-generation mobile gaming. More about the chipset and its performance should be revealed on February 25, 2026 during Galaxy Unpacked.
