Galaxy S26 performance face-off: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs Exynos 2600

The Samsung Galaxy S26 you buy could be different depending on your region. While the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra uses the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy across the world, the same isn't true for the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus.

Outside North America, both phones run on Samsung's Exynos 2600 chipset, meaning performance will vary. But just how much of a difference will there actually be? Exynos chips don't have the best reputation compared to Snapdragon flagships, but their performance has improved significantly over the years.

Plus, as Samsung is keen to brag, the 2600 is the first-ever 2nm chipset in a smartphone. The 2nm process should, in theory, offer better performance and energy efficiency than 3nm chips thanks to increased transistor density. But is it enough to outpace the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, which has already proven itself as one of the best mobile chips ever made?

We did some testing to find out, and the results were quite surprising.

Exynos 2600 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy

First, let’s look at the Geekbench 6.6 results. The Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S26 recorded a single-core score of 3,531 and a multi-core score of 10,778. Meanwhile, the Exynos variant yielded 3,197 in single-core and a surprising 11,065 in multi-core testing.

That's a noticeable dip in performance when a single CPU core is in use, but the combined efforts of the chipset actually produced an overall better score.

Strangely, the story changed with the Galaxy S26 Plus, where the Exynos variant repeatedly underperformed compared to its Snapdragon counterpart. Its single-core tests averaged 3,314, while multi-core testing reached 10,992 — results that closely mirror the standard Galaxy S26 on both counts.

By comparison, the North American Snapdragon variant clocked a whopping 3,726 in single-core and 11,121 in multi-core tests. While the gap in multi-core performance is narrow, the Snapdragon silicon clearly holds the advantage when CPU cores are working solo.

The results show a similar situation with graphics benchmarking. In 3DMark’s Wild Life Unlimited test, the Exynos-powered Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus recorded remarkably similar scores of 7,250 and 7,219, respectively. That is a step above the 7,059 earned by the Snapdragon Galaxy S26, but noticeably lower than the Snapdragon S26 Plus’s 7,518.

Framerates were more consistent across the four devices, but the trend held steady. The Exynos Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus averaged 43.42 fps and 42.23 fps. This edges out the Snapdragon Galaxy S26’s 42.27 fps, but falls short of the S26 Plus’s 45.02 fps.

Weirdly, the Exynos chips actually outperformed the Snapdragon-only Galaxy S26 Ultra in these specific tests. If you ask me, that’s a significant win for Samsung’s chip division— and rather embarrassing for the mobile team.

What does this mean for you?

In the past, it was well known that Exynos chips weren't on the same level as Snapdragon. Try as it might, Samsung simply couldn't compete with Qualcomm, and that reputation has lingered for years. But is the gap still as wide as people claim?

Arguably, it isn't. While the Exynos 2600 doesn't provide identical performance to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy — consistently trailing in CPU benchmarks behind the S26 Plus and S26 Ultra — it also managed to beat the Snapdragon models in several tests and offered graphical performance that sits in a respectable middle ground.

If you’re hoping for the absolute peak performance from your Galaxy S26, the Exynos chip might be a slight disappointment. That said, the margin isn't so large that you're likely to notice a discrepancy in daily use. After all, when was the last time you actually pushed your phone to its absolute limit?

My point is that you shouldn't go out of your way to import a North American Galaxy S26 if your local store only sells Exynos variants. The same applies to American users, since they're not missing out on much. The Exynos 2600 may be the first 2nm chipset in a smartphone, but it appears that milestone doesn't offer a massive practical advantage in the performance department.

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