Galaxy S26 Snapdragon and Exynos 2600 performance compared

Just a day after the global announcement of the Galaxy S26 series, the first performance test results have started appearing online. The traditional rivalry between Snapdragon and Exynos is once again in the spotlight, but this year the gap between the versions is significantly smaller than in previous generations.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, scored between 3670 and 3724 points in the single-core Geekbench 6 test, and between 10,981 and 11,237 points in the multi-core test. These are predictably high results for the 'for Galaxy' version, which features higher clock speeds and additional optimization. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26+ with the new Exynos 2600 scored between 3105 and 3197 points in single-core mode and between 10,444 and 11,012 points in multi-core mode.

This means Snapdragon leads Exynos by approximately 10-18% in single-threaded performance, which could translate to slightly faster system responsiveness and app launches in everyday use. However, the difference in multi-core workloads is minimal, highlighting the noticeable progress of Samsung's own chip.

Graphic performance is particularly interesting. In the OpenCL test, the Exynos 2600 even showed a slightly higher result—24,240 points compared to Snapdragon's 24,152. The difference is symbolic but significant, especially considering that previous Exynos versions often lagged behind not only in CPU efficiency but also in graphics stability under load.

These results gain additional importance from the fact that the Exynos 2600 is Samsung's first chip manufactured using the 2nm GAA process, while Snapdragon uses the proven 3nm TSMC process. In practice, this isn't just a comparison between Qualcomm and Samsung; it's also a demonstration of the capabilities of the new generation of processors from Samsung Foundry. Final conclusions about heat, energy efficiency, and stability will have to wait for full reviews.