Samsung just published its financial report for the third quarter and used the opportunity to reveal some details about Samsung’s strategy for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy devices as a whole.
Daniel Araujo, VP of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division (MX), said the Samsung Galaxy S26 series will “revolutionize the user experience with strong performance including user-centered, next-gen AI, second-generation custom apps, and new camera sensors.”
AP stands for “Application Processor” and is the industry term for a chipset. Why the second generation, though? Although it was not explicitly named, the Aquinos 2600 will be the first smartphone chipset built on the 2nm node. This is the first general. Or maybe it’s the second gen if you count from the Exynos 2500 which is exclusively used in the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Qualcomm will reportedly dual-source some Snapdragon 8 chips and “for Galaxy” variants produced by Samsung’s foundries — they’ll fit the “custom AP” bill, so they might be the chips Araujo is referring to. Why not both?
According to some reports, the Exynos 2600 will be used for all S26 models in most regions, while select regions (US, China, Japan) will get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 version instead.
A final decision hasn’t been made yet — “AP’s evaluation is still ongoing, so we can’t yet confirm our next year’s flagship lineup.”
Other recent CHIP news claims that the Galaxy S26 series will feature a new Exynos connectivity chip, which will handle things like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It’s not an AP, of course, but it’s still interesting because the Galaxy S25 series uses Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800 for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth duties. Apple recently introduced the N1 connectivity chip on the iPhone Air, replacing the usual Broadcom offering.
Samsung’s Vision for MX Division in 2026
Anyway, for the coming year, Samsung will focus on AI features for its smartphones, new AI-based health tracking features for its smartwatches, new TWS buds while also working to consolidate its position in the foldable market.
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