For those thinking Samsung Galaxy S26 is switching to new hardware, Qualcomm says think again

Qualcomm is expecting to power about 75% of the Galaxy S26 models when Samsung announces its new phone in 2026. That assumption stands rival to previous information which claimed Samsung would be using its own home-grown hardware for its next flagship smartphone range.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is expected to launch in February 2026, with an S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra. There's been a lot of speculation about these devices (including name changes and the potential introduction of the S26 Edge), along with a consistent message that the Exynos 2600 would be used to power these new models.

But that might not be the case, according to Qualcomm. During its Q4 2025 earnings call (opens a PDF), the chip manufacturer was asked about Samsung. The response (via WCCF Tech) was: "Our assumption for any new Galaxy is always going to be 75%. That's our assumption for Galaxy S26."

Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm CEO, made the comment in response to a question, with Amon also saying: "I sense that there is potential for a lot of noise when noise is actually not required."

Over the past couple of years, Samsung didn't use its hardware in the Galaxy S flagship models, which saw Snapdragon powering all the Galaxy S25 handsets. In that instance, they had 100% share, so the assumption of a 75% share suggests that Exynos will be in some of the handsets – but Qualcomm made this clear it was an assumption, not a fact.

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That shifts Galaxy S26 rumours from a position where there was some certainty that the new models would feature the Exynos 2600, with the chip's performance given as the reason, to a situation that's more familiar. It sounds like there will be both Snapdragon and Exynos hardware in devices.

Typically, the split for these handsets has been geographic, with China and the US getting the Snapdragon version and Europe and other regions getting Exynos. It has, in the past, been a big point of debate for fans, with Snapdragon typically seen as offering greater power and graphics performance. Exynos has often cited by Samsung as being more efficient, because it has been developed in-house.

Samsung's move to next-gen hardware could be different for the Galaxy S26. The Exynos 2600 is expected to be 2nm, whereas the equivalent Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is 3nm, and that could see the Exynos hardware having greater efficiencies than Qualcomm's rival.

While it was assumed that the Exynos 2600 was going to be used across the Galaxy S26 board, it looks like we all need to scrap that line of thinking and revert to the normal state of speculation – that it's likely to be a mixture.