Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Confirmed to Arrive with Custom Exynos Chip and Better AI

Samsung just wrapped up its Earning Calls conference for Q3 2025. While it focused majorly on the South Korean brand's performance in the previous quarter, some official beans were also spilt on the Galaxy S26 lineup. Here is what the upcoming smartphones will offer in 2026.

Exynos, AI and cameras will be the foundation of the Galaxy S26 series

According to Daniel Araujo, VP of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division, the Galaxy S26 series, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature in-house Exynos chips, next-gen AI and upgraded camera sensors.

The Galaxy S26 lineup will revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors.

— Daniel Araujo, VP of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division

While Araujo has not explicitly mentioned the Exynos 2600, we believe it to be the "custom AP" he is indicating. If we were to go by previous leaks, at least one Galaxy S26 series phone is expected to sport the Exynos 2600 processor. While the S26 Ultra will definitely boast the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, either the base model or the plus one will ship with the brand's in-house silicon.

Moreover, a new custom Exynos connectivity chip was also spotted recently. Therefore, it could potentially ship with the Galaxy S26 series alongside the Exynos 2600, the world's first 2nm processor. All in all, it looks like Samsung is reverting to the dual-chip strategy after pausing it for the Galaxy S25 lineup this year.

This makes sense since the recent Exynos 2600 Geekbench scores placed it on par with the latest flagship offering from Qualcomm. It managed to score above 11,000 points in the multi-core test. Hence, 2nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) process combined with sheer raw power could very well bring Samsung back on the map as a chip-making force to reckon with.

Other than that, while Araujo has mentioned user-centric AI and new camera sensors for the upcoming phones, he has not shed any light into what exactly these inclusions will mean. We believe that the already powerful Galaxy AI will get more useful next year. As for the cameras, it is hard to tell what exactly the company has planned for its fans. 

Aside from that, the Q3 2025 earnings report also revealed the brand's plans to strengthen its foldable portfolio and bring AI-based health features to Galaxy Watches and TWS. It recently gave us our first look at the Samsung Galaxy Tri-Fold. There is also the news of a new Galaxy Z Fold 8's crease reduction tech that's planned for 2026. So, the brand is clearly serious about the foldable smartphone segment's future. 

That said, 2026 is no doubt shaping up to be an interesting and in some ways confusing, for Samsung. Surely a lot has been going on behind the scenes and maybe that is the reason why the Galaxy S26 series launch has been delayed to February or March 2026. Either way, we will know more as the new year inches closer.