Samsung now has another reason to shift back to Exynos as quickly as possible

After relying on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips exclusively for its flagship phones for a couple of years, Samsung has gradually been bringing back the Exynos. Its decision to equip the Galaxy Z Flip 7 with the Exynos 2500 made it the first time that a Samsung foldable phone didn't have a Snapdragon chipset.

There's expectation that we may see the Exynos 2600 in some variants of the Galaxy S26 series next year, while the Ultra will feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon chipset. However, there's another reason now for Samsung to move back to Exynos as quickly as possible.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has gradually been raising the prices for its advanced manufacturing processes. Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon chipsets are made by TSMC so if the manufacturer raises prices, the chips understandably get more expensive.

The previous hike is believed to have prompted Samsung to start bringing back the Exynos chipsets in its flagship handsets. A new report indicates that TSMC has communicated a price hike of 5-10% on its advanced 3 and 2nm processes for 2026 to customers.

This, coupled with Qualcomm's own expected price hikes for chips, would make Snapdragon an even more expensive option for Samsung. So it would either have to reduce its margins on those devices or increases prices in an already uncertain environment where tariffs have become a factor.

A mix of Exynos 2600 and Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for the Galaxy S26 series could help Samsung balance things. If pricing continues to trend upward, Samsung would likely seek to shift additional flagship models to the Exynos.