Galaxy S26 Ultra Drama: European Version Less Powerful Due to Exynos 2600 Chip?

A recent benchmark test of the Galaxy S26 Ultra featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 suggests that its Exynos 2600 counterpart, which will be sold in Europe, may offer lower performance.

Following a generation where Samsung’s Galaxy S25 had to rely solely on Qualcomm chips, the tech giant is making a comeback this year with its Exynos 2600 SoC. This chip will power all three Galaxy S26 models in Europe and South Korea, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 will be used in the USA and China. This setup inevitably raises questions about performance differences between the two versions.

A recent Geekbench benchmark has reignited the debate between Snapdragon and Exynos. The Galaxy S26 Ultra equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 scored impressively with 3,466 in single-core and 11,035 in multi-core tests. These figures are significantly higher than those of the Galaxy S25 Ultra (3,137 and 9,769), and are roughly on par with previous results from a Galaxy S26 Ultra with the Exynos 2600, albeit with a slight twist.

Is the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 being throttled in the Galaxy S26 Ultra?

While the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s scores are nearly identical between the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 and the Exynos 2600, it’s noted that the benchmark for Qualcomm’s chip was actually performed with a throttled processor. During the test, the two highest-performing cores of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 were clocked at a frequency of 4.19 GHz. Typically, these cores run at a much higher frequency of 4.6 GHz. This suggests that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 could achieve even better performance, especially in single-core scores, potentially nearing 4,000.

Now, the question remains as to what Samsung plans to do with the Galaxy S26 Ultra models that will be sold commercially. If the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 demonstrates superior performance to the Exynos 2600, Samsung faces two choices:

• Offer a more powerful smartphone in the USA than in Europe.
• Throttle the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 to maintain similar performance across all markets.

The latter option might seem counterintuitive but could prevent frustration among customers in markets equipped with the Exynos 2600. Reducing the power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 might also help to enhance the smartphone’s battery life.