The first trailer of Samsung’s upcoming Exynos 2600 is sufficient evidence to let the industry know that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Dimensity 9500, and the A19 Pro are going to get some competition in the coming months. However, as much as the Korean giant has seemingly portrayed confidence in its first 2nm GAA chipset, it will continue to keep the Galaxy S26 models featuring the SoC limited to its domestic market. One Korean firm has mentioned three reasons why this is the case, with two of them being kernel security vulnerabilities and low yields.
The third reason for keeping the Exynos 2600 limited to Samsung’s home market is overheating, but the company has reportedly addressed this problem with technology called ‘Heat Pass Block’
After three generations of getting Snapdragon-exclusive Galaxy S releases, Samsung is finally shifting to a dual-chipset release strategy with the Exynos 2600. However, as expected, even though the new silicon is reportedly fabricated on the company’s most advanced lithography, only the domestic market will bear witness to it, with overseas regions getting treated to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variants.
In the past, we have all fallen for the Exynos hype train, with the chipset always performing way below expectations. This makes Qualcomm’s Snapdragon lineup a significantly better alternative. However, Korea Joongang Daily mentions that a Korean firm, CTT Research, stated three reasons back in September as to why Exynos-powered Samsung flagships have a limited global presence. They have been mentioned below.
“Due to issues such as kernel security vulnerabilities, overheating and low yields, Exynos chips have historically been used mainly in domestic models, while most overseas units were equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon.”
When Samsung was reported to have commenced mass production of the Exynos 2600 on the 2nm GAA node, the yields were said to be at 50 percent. Based on this information, Samsung has plenty of room to improve those numbers, but it has made incredible progress compared to the 3nm GAA process.
On this occasion, the low yields problem has been addressed, with the overheating concerns also tackled by employing a technology called ‘Heat Pass Block.’ A Samsung executive previously stated that this addition reduces temperatures by 30 percent, and for those who don’t know, Heat Pass Block acts as a heatsink on the chipset die to help with heat transfer.
Also, Samsung has shifted to the newer ‘Fan-out Wafer Level Packaging’ or FOWLP, which made its debut in the Exynos 2400. While the research firm’s reasons are sound, the reason why the majority of Galaxy S26 units will feature a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is due to Qualcomm’s agreement with Samsung, which requires 75 percent of the company’s Galaxy S shipments to feature the San Diego firm’s top-end SoC.
Assuming Samsung attempts to be clever and tries to circumvent Qualcomm’s conditions and employ the Exynos 2600 in a higher percentage to reduce its chipset expenditure, it might be forced to pay a hefty fine.
News Source: Korea Joongang Daily
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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