Galaxy S26's Exynos 2600 may cost less than Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Samsung’s next lineup of non-foldable flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S26 series, is expected to have three devices: Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. The brand is said to offer the first two devices with the Exynos 2600 chipset in most regions around the world, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in others. Whereas, the tech giant is expected to offer the Galaxy S26 Ultra with Qualcomm’s chips across the globe. 

Well, we now have some information on the prices of the two chipsets, which explains why Samsung may have decided to use the in-house developed chip extensively.

According to Chosen Biz, Samsung MX (the brand's division that makes phones) has been asking Samsung System LSI (the brand's division that makes chipsets) to supply the Exynos 2600 for the Galaxy S26 series at a price that is $20 to $30 lower than that of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

If the talks succeed, Samsung will be able to manufacture the Galaxy S26 units with the Exynos 2600 SoC at a lower price than the Galaxy S26 units with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. However, there’s no information on whether the tech giant will pass on that benefit to customers.

According to a recent report, with rising component costs, Samsung is focused on offering the Galaxy S26 series at the same price as its predecessor rather than equipping it with the best possible upgrades. Considering that, we don't think Samsung will pass on the lower chipset cost to consumers.

The Exynos 2600 costing lower than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 doesn’t necessarily mean that it is an inferior chipset. Samsung System LSI may offer the chipset to Samsung MX at a lower price to attract the company, giving it an opportunity to get massive revenue and bring back Exynos to the market.