Qualcomm announced that most Galaxy S26 phones will use Snapdragon chips.
Qualcomm gives away the name of the chip designer it says will supply the AP for 75% of the Galaxy S26 line.
The Galaxy S25 series used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite AP exclusively, prompting Samsung to spend around $400 million to purchase additional Snapdragon chips. These chips substituted the Exynos 2500 SoCs that Samsung Foundry was unable to produce.
Samsung Foundry has improved its yield for the 2nm Exynos 2600, which uses Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors. These transistors cover all four sides of the channel, which reduces current leaks and enhances drive current. This makes the chip more powerful and energy efficient. The Galaxy S26 models using the Exynos 2600 may be the first smartphones with a 2nm chipset. The Exynos 2600's performance is similar to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 application processor.
During a recent earnings call, Qualcomm stated it anticipates its Snapdragon chip being used in 75% of Galaxy S26 phones. Previously, Qualcomm expected to supply 50% of APs for the Galaxy S series. The chipmaker now expects a baseline of 75% with Samsung. Qualcomm noted it supplied 100% of the Galaxy S25 chips, so 75% is the baseline for the S26.
Samsung Foundry has improved its yield for the 2nm Exynos 2600, which uses Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors. These transistors cover all four sides of the channel, which reduces current leaks and enhances drive current. This makes the chip more powerful and energy efficient. The Galaxy S26 models using the Exynos 2600 may be the first smartphones with a 2nm chipset.
During a recent earnings call, Qualcomm stated it anticipates its Snapdragon chip being used in 75% of Galaxy S26 phones. Previously, Qualcomm expected to supply 50% of APs for the Galaxy S series. The chipmaker now expects a baseline of 75% with Samsung. Qualcomm noted it supplied 100% of the Galaxy S25 chips, so 75% is the baseline for the S26.
Even with the enhanced performance of the Exynos 2600, Samsung may still rely on Qualcomm for a significant portion of its next flagship line. Samsung has improved its Exynos AP, which reportedly outperforms Apple's A19 Pro by six times in AI tasks.
While Samsung has seemingly narrowed the gap between the Exynos and Snapdragon APs, Qualcomm is confident it will remain a primary AP supplier for Samsung's upcoming flagship devices.
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