Exynos 2600 runs cooler than a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with liquid nitrogen

Thermal management has long been a pain point for Samsung's Exynos chipsets. They'd run at higher temperatures faster than competing Snapdragon chipsets, and as thermal throttling kicked in, peak performance declined relative to the Qualcomm chipset.

Samsung took an innovative approach with the Heat Pass Block technology in the Exynos 2600. This has helped considerably, so much so that the Exynos 2600 ends up running cooler than a liquid nitrogen-cooled Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

Wccftech flags a test conducted by YouTuber Geekerwan which shows the Exynos 2600, used in the Galaxy S26 and S26+ in most markets, showing better temperature management compared to a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 device assisted by liquid nitrogen. This wasn't a retail device, rather, the YouTuber has merely set up a test scenario involving liquid nitrogen.

The video shows that with its Heat Pass Block technology, which places a copper heatsink on top of the chipset die, the Exynos 2600 outperforms the liquid nitrogen-cooled Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in thermal management. Despite the use of liquid nitrogen, the Qualcomm chip can't maintain single-core clock speeds.

While other factors do come into play that result in thermal throttling for the Exynos 2600-powered Galaxy S26+, the impact can be mitigated simply by attaching a small clip-on fan at the back of the device. This is infinitely more doable for the average user who just wants extended gaming sessions than having to figure out liquid nitrogen cooling for a mobile device.

Samsung's innovative cooling solution for the Exynos 2600 has caught Qualcomm's attention as well. Recent reports have revealed that Qualcomm may also adopt Heat Pass Block for its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset, which is likely to be unveiled later this year.