Qualcomm to Provide 75% of Chips for Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Exynos 2600 to Cover Remaining 25%

In a significant strategic shift, Samsung is poised to return to a dual-chip approach for its upcoming Galaxy S26 series, set for release in 2026. This lineup is expected to include both Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Samsung’s own Exynos 2600. However, insights from Qualcomm’s management suggest that the Exynos 2600 will only be featured in a limited number of devices within the Galaxy S26 range, with Qualcomm’s chip dominating the majority.

Insights from Qualcomm’s Q4 2025 Earnings Call

During the recent Qualcomm Q4 2025 earnings call, the company’s executives were questioned regarding their long-standing partnership with Samsung, particularly in light of Samsung’s consideration of utilizing its internal modem technology. This question raised concerns about Qualcomm’s share in the upcoming Galaxy models.

Qualcomm’s management provided some noteworthy comments:

“We have said for a number of years, and this has been true in the past, that what used to be a normal relationship at a 50% share, the new baseline is about 75% share.”

Qualcomm anticipates maintaining this revised baseline of 75% share with the Galaxy S26 series:

“On Galaxy S25, we got 100%.Our assumption for any new Galaxy is always going to be 75%.That is our assumption for Galaxy S26.”

This statement reflects Qualcomm’s strong confidence in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s superiority over Samsung’s Exynos 2600, particularly in terms of performance and efficiency.

Interestingly, early benchmarks suggest that the Exynos 2600 could hold its ground against Qualcomm’s chip. In pre-launch testing, Samsung’s first 2nm GAA chipset has demonstrated impressive efficiency metrics, outperforming Apple’s A19 Pro in performance-per-watt tests—utilizing just 7.6W during the Geekbench 6 multi-core evaluation and a mere 3.6W in the single-core test.

However, Samsung’s cautious approach indicates a lack of confidence in achieving real-world performance parity with the Exynos 2600, potentially bolstering Qualcomm’s bold projection of a 75% share within the Galaxy S26 series.

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