For years , Samsung has employed a passably puzzling chipset rip when it comes to the flagship Galaxy S collection – outside of the US , anyway .

While US customers get the same Snapdragon chipset across the orbit , those in the UK , Europe , and other regions get a Samsung Exynos chipset in the regular good example . In contrast , the Ultra model gets the more pop Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset .

Despite Samsung ’s efforts to keep tread with the Snapdragon rival , it does n’t quite dispatch the Gospel According to Mark . I found that out at first hand when testing both theSnapdragon - power Galaxy S24 and the Exynos - based Galaxy S24 , with the former outpace the latter in benchmark tests – particularly in the GPU department .

“ The gap in operation is best showcased by the chipsets ’ GPUs . Running GFXBench Aztec Ruins on high configurations to copy high - level three-D play at 1080p , the Exynos S24 pull off a respectable 85fps , but the Snapdragon ’s 111fps dwarfed it . ” I note at the prison term .

Essentially , it was thwarting for users around the world as it felt like they were being shortchanged while still paying the same cost as those in the US .

Thankfully , Samsung changed tack in 2025 with the Galaxy S25 accumulation . The entire collection sports the top - end Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy in all regions worldwide , see parity in operation irrespective of where you buy and use your machine .

It was one of the highlights when we go over the regularSamsung Galaxy S25andSamsung Galaxy S25 Plus , with bench mark not too dissimilar to the top - endSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra .

Finally , I thought , Samsung has generate its act together and gift consumers what they really need .

I also imagine it signified a change in direction for Samsung going forward , with the Galaxy S26 collection all sporting whatever Qualcomm ’s top - end Snapdragon chipset will be called in 2026 . The 8 Elite Gen 2 ? 8 Gen 4 ? Something else entirely ? Qualcomm has definitely burgeon forth itself in the foot with the odd 8 elect stigmatisation , but that ’s a different article altogether .

However , my hope and dreams were shattered over the weekend when I saw a leaker claim that the S26 will , in fact , apply an Exynos - based chipset in some regions .

Leaker @JukanIosreve has a solid track disc , specially when it comes to Samsung - related leaks , so this title has more exercising weight than others I ’ve seen recently .

In a tweet , the leaker claims that the Exynos 2600 chipset is “ by all odds back ” and will be used in the S26 . The leaker does n’t delineate which model of S26 will get the chipset , and which neighborhood will get it in seat of the Snapdragon equivalent , but they exact that “ chip volume is so limited that it ’ll likely be similar to the Exynos 990 berth ” .

The Exynos 990 chipset was the chipset of choice for the regular Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus in all region except the USA back in 2020 , so it looks like we could be see something similar with the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus in 2026 . I hope not , but much to my chagrin , it ’s looking increasingly probable .

Why Samsung , why ?