Which chip powers the Samsung Galaxy S26 series in the USA?

You can never be too sure what chipset Samsung will use in its next premium phones. But with the Galaxy S26 series now official, one thing is clear: in the US, every Galaxy S26 model is powered by Qualcomm.

Specifically, the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra in the US feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. In most other markets, the base and Plus models feature Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600 SoC instead.

Because the Exynos 2600 is designed and manufactured by Samsung, new Galaxy fans might be tempted to think that it is the only chipset choice that makes sense for the Galaxy S26 series.

However, Qualcomm chips usually outperform their Exynos counterparts, so if you're buying the Galaxy S26 in the USA, you're arguably getting a better phone for your money.

It's also worth pointing out that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 used in the new flagships isn't standard. It's a slightly modified “for Galaxy” version co-developed by Samsung and Qualcomm.

Although the new chip is built on a 3nm node, Samsung says the Galaxy S26 Ultra performs significantly better than its predecessor. Here are the company's estimated performance gains:

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs previous generation

As for the current gen chips, no side-by-side test of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and Exynos 2600 exists yet, but past trends suggest Snapdragon will be superior. In the US, that means the best performance is guaranteed on any Galaxy S26 model.

All three Galaxy S26 models also sport the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip in other North American markets, in China, and in Japan. Everywhere else, including Europe, the base and Plus models feature the Exynos 2600 chip, and only the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with Snapdragon.