Why Samsung’s Latest Chip Breakthrough Matters for Upcoming Galaxy Phones

Samsung has unveiled its new processor technology, a system-on-a-chip geared toward smartphones that could impact its own upcoming product lineup. Exynos 2600 is a chip that combines a CPU, an AI-powering NPU and a graphics GPU onto one single unit, which the company says will deliver powerful gaming and AI performance with higher efficiency.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The key is that Exynos 2600 is manufactured with 2-nanometer technology, which not only fits more processors onto a single silicon wafer but also makes for smaller chips that use less power. In transitioning to this technology from the 3-nanometer technology that it adopted a few years ago, Samsung appears to be leaping ahead of competitors like Apple and Qualcomm, which still manufacture 3-nanometer chips.

One big question, raised by sites such as T3, is whether Samsung will use these new chips in its upcoming line of products, including the Samsung Galaxy S26. T3 raised the possibility that Samsung could use the Exynos 2600 processors in some regions and continue using the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips it has used in recent years in others. That could mean that smartphones could perform differently depending on which system they run on.

A representative for Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to its semiconductor website, Exynos 2600 is in mass production.

2nm, AI and your next smartphone

Samsung’s announcement isn’t unexpected: its 2-nanometer chip production is the next logical step in semiconductor production, and competitors are likely to follow.

However, scaling 2nm to mass production could accelerate the industry’s progress toward even more powerful phones that consume less energy.

“For consumers, that translates into phones that feel faster and more responsive but don’t drain the battery as quickly, especially during heavy tasks like 4K streaming, gaming, video recording or multitasking,” said Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research.

Eslamimehr, who has worked in research and development for Samsung, said that Samsung’s announcement could herald a broader trend of phones that rely less on the cloud for AI functions such as generative AI assistants, real-time photo enhancements or language translations.

“With 2nm chips, phones can include far more powerful AI and neural processing units that run these models directly on the device,” he said. “That means faster responses, better privacy — your data doesn’t have to leave your phone — and AI features that work instantly, even without a network connection.”