Exynos 2600 is not just another new chip from Samsung; it’s a seriously powerful mobile processor built using the advanced 2nm process node. Samsung has switched to an all-big-core CPU design to offer greater CPU performance. The GPU also promises significantly better compute performance and ray tracing.
The Exynos 2600 is a true upgrade over its predecessor, Exynos 2500, but how does it fare against Qualcomm’s high-end chipsets, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite? We recently compared it with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (read it here), and the battle was pretty intense, even though it couldn’t outperform the Snapdragon chip. So, we decided to test whether the Exynos 2600 can outperform the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
| Exynos 2600 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | December 2025 | October 2024 |
| Process node | 2nm (Samsung) | 3nm (TSMC) |
| CPU cores | 10-core | 8-core |
| CPU cores | 1 x 3.8GHz — C1-Ultra 3 x 3.25GHz — C1-Pro 6 x 2.75GHz — C1-Pro | 2 x 4.32GHz — Oryon (2nd gen) 6 x 3.53GHz — Oryon (2nd gen) |
| GPU | Exynos Xclipse 960 GPU Ray tracing support Exynos Neural Super Sampling | Adreno 830 Ray tracing support Snapdragon Elite Gaming features |
| NPU | AI engine with 32K MAC NPU | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU |
| Memory | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X, up to 5.3 GHz |
| Storage | UFS 4.1 | UFS 4.0 |
| Camera | up to 320MP single camera up to 108MP single camera (30fps) up to 64MP+32MP dual cameras (30fps) up to 8K video recording real-time semantic segmentation | Quacomm Spectra ISP (Triple AI-ISPs, 18-bit) up to 320MP single camera up to 108MP single camera (MFNR, ZSL, 30fps) up to 48MP triple camera (MFNR, ZSL, 30fps) up to 8K video recording real-time semantic segmentation (limitless) |
| Connectivity | Exynos 5410 modem (mmWave, sub-6GHz) download speed: 14.79Gbps (maximum) upload speed: 4.9Gbps (maximum) Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 | Snapdragon X80 5G modem (mmWave, sub-6GHz) download speed: 10Gbps (maximum) upload speed: 3.5Gbps (maximum) Wi-Fi 7 (maximum speed: 5.8Gbps) Bluetooth 6.0 |
Exynos 2600 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite: Benchmark score
Note: For benchmark results, the tests were conducted on the Galaxy S26 Plus (Exynos 2600) and the Galaxy S25 Plus (Snapdragon 8 Elite).
Geekbench score (v6)
| Exynos 2600 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | |
| Single core | 3,040 | 3,008 |
| Multi core | 10,290 | 9,730 |
The Exynos 2600 scores higher on Geekbench than the Snapdragon 8 Elite, though the difference is minimal. The gap widens in the multi-core performance, where the Exynos 2600 achieves about 6% higher score.
AnTuTu score (v11)
| Exynos 2600 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | |
| AnTuTu score | 3,210,573 | 3,162,650 |
| CPU | 1,065,772 | 967,505 |
| GPU | 1,212,568 | 1,200,291 |
| Memory | 413,700 | 381,416 |
| UX | 518,533 | 613,438 |
On the AnTuTu benchmark, the Exynos 2600 scores over 3.21 million, slightly higher than the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s 3.16 million.
The AnTuTu score breakdown shows a 10% higher CPU score for the Exynos 2600, while the GPU scores doesn’t show a big jump. The Exynos chip also delivers stronger memory performance, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite leads in the user experience (UX) test.
3DMark score
Wild Life Extreme Test
| Exynos 2600 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | |
| Score | 6,674 | 6,527 |
We also ran the chips through the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme test to better understand the gaming performance. On this platform, the Exynos 2600 scored 6,674 points, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite stayed behind with 6,527 points.
While the Exynos 2600 leads here, the difference isn’t significant. Keep in mind that the cooling solution and software turning on a device could also make a big difference.
In all the benchmark tests we have run, the Exynos 2600 has outperformed the Snapdragon 8 Elite, even though the differences haven’t been significant. But they leave some important aspects untouched, including the camera and connectivity. Let’s look at those details to get a better picture.
Exynos 2600 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite: Key differences
Manufacturing process
Exynos 2600 is the industry’s first 2nm GAA mobile processor, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite is built on TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) process, which relies on an advanced FinFET architecture. It offers the Exynos chip a slight advantage in sustained performance and efficiency.
CPU, GPU, & NPU
The Exynos 2600 features a 10-core CPU with C1-Ultra and C1-Pro cores. In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is equipped with an 8-core CPU, featuring second-generation Oryon cores at a higher peak clock speed.
For handling graphics workloads, the Exynos 2600 relies on the Exynos Xclipse 960 GPU, which supports ray tracing, and Exynos Neural Super Sampling for real-time resolution upscaling and frame generation during gaming. The Snapdragon 8 Elite also ships with a powerful Adreno 830 GPU with excellent ray tracing capabilities, and a full suite of Snapdragon Elite Gaming features.
Both chips also integrate advanced NPUs for on-device AI capabilities: an AI engine with 32K MAC NPU on Exynos 2600 and a Hexagon NPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Camera
The camera also receives several notable upgrades with Exynos 2600, including a new AI-based Visual Perception System (VPS) that integrates AI-driven computer vision directly into the ISP pipeline for real-time scene analysis, semantic segmentation, and multi-frame processing. The Snapdragon 8 Elite uses an 18-bit Spectra ISP (AI-ISP) with numerous features, including limitless semantic segmentation at 4K resolution, on-device video object eraser, and real-time skin/sky adjustments.
Connectivity
Both flagship processors offer robust connectivity features, but there are still notable differences. The Exynos 5410 modem on the Exynos chip offers up to 14.79Gbps download speed and up to 4.9Gbps upload speed, while the Snapdragon X80 modem on the Snapdragon 8 Elite peaks at 10Gbps download speed and 3.5Gbps upload speed. The rest of the connectivity features are mostly the same.
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