Galaxy S26 with Exynos 2600 Appears on Geekbench: 88% of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 GPU

The Korean Galaxy S26 Plus surfaced on Geekbench in January 2026 with Samsung’s Exynos 2600 processor, revealing Xclipse 960 GPU performance at 19,825-24,726 points. The world’s first 2nm smartphone chipset reaches 88% of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5‘s Adreno 840 in Vulkan tests, marking Samsung‘s closest Exynos-Qualcomm parity ever—validating the company’s decision to deploy Exynos chips in Korea, India, and Europe for Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus.

Galaxy S26 Exynos 2600 Performance

Xclipse 960 GPU Reaches 24,726 Points

The Exynos 2600’s Samsung Xclipse 960 GPU scored between 19,825 and 24,726 points in Vulkan API tests, approaching the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s Adreno 840 at approximately 25,083 points. This 88% performance parity represents Samsung’s most competitive Exynos GPU ever, nearly eliminating the graphics gap that historically separated Exynos from Snapdragon flagships.

For Samsung Galaxy buyers, the Xclipse 960 based on AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture supports up to 50% ray tracing performance increase versus previous generations. The first-ever smartphone GPU built on 2nm GAA process delivers flagship gaming and multimedia capabilities without the thermal throttling issues plaguing past Exynos chips.

2nm GAA Process Drives 39% CPU Performance Gain

Samsung Foundry’s 2nm manufacturing employs Gate-All-Around transistors that wrap gates around all four sides of channels versus FinFET’s three-side coverage, preventing current leaks and improving drive current. This enables the Exynos 2600 to deliver up to 39% CPU performance improvement over the Exynos 2500 while maintaining energy efficiency.

The decacore configuration features one 3.8GHz prime core, three 3.25GHz performance cores, and six 2.75GHz efficiency cores. Early Geekbench CPU scores show approximately 3,455 single-core and 11,621 multi-core points, matching or exceeding the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s 2,865 single-core and 9,487 multi-core performance.

Heat Path Blocker Addresses Overheating Concerns

Samsung added a Heat Path Blocker copper heat sink to the Exynos 2600—the first mobile SoC with this feature—to disperse heat faster and maintain stable internal temperatures. This addresses the notorious overheating issues that damaged Exynos reputation across Galaxy S22 and S23 generations.

The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will use Exynos 2600 in Korea, India, Europe, and key Asian markets, while the S26 Ultra exclusively features Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 globally. Prototype testing showed Exynos CPU performance matching its Snapdragon counterpart, with Samsung’s 2nm process making “a great impact” according to early reports.

The February 25 San Francisco launch with March 11 first sales confirms Samsung’s confidence in Exynos 2600 capabilities. If battery efficiency, sustained gaming, camera processing, and thermal behavior meet expectations, this could mark Exynos’ global comeback after years of regional relegation.

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