Samsung's Exynos 2600 chip, which is expected to power the base Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26+ in select regions, is quite revolutionary in some respects, especially in its employment of an innovative copper-based heat sink that is attached directly to the AP. Even so, Samsung's recently announced SoC is by no means perfect, which ironically forms the perfect background for the 2027-launching Exynos 2700 chip to shine that much brighter.
Samsung's Exynos 2700 chip reportedly prioritizes thermal efficiency via a unified Heat Path Block
A relatively obscure tipster has just leaked some of the overarching specs for Samsung's 2027-geared Exynos 2700 chip, which reportedly bears the internal codename Ulysses. Do note that the tipster in question is followed by a more well-known Samsung-focused leaker on X, which adds to the credibility of the reported information.
Starting with the predictable stuff, Exynos 2700 is expected to leverage Samsung's SF2P process, which is the next-gen iteration of the 2nm GAA process utilized by the Exynos 2600 chip.
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the Gate-All-Around (GAA) is a 3D transistor architecture where the Gate completely surrounds the channel, which consists of vertically stacked nanosheets - on all four sides, resulting in improved electrostatic control and a lower voltage threshold.
Coming back, Samsung's new SF2P process is expected to yield a 12 percent hike in gross performance and a 25 percent reduction in the overall energy consumption relative to the previous-gen SF2 node. Moreover, Samsung's next-gen process will allow the prime core to be clocked at 4.20GHz vs. the 3.90GHz highest clocked frequency in the Exynos 2600 chip.
Next, the Exynos 2700 chip is expected to leverage ARM Cortex-C2 cores. Do note that ARM has changed the naming convention of its cores by dropping the Cortex labeling. As such, the new ARM cores that will feature within the Exynos 2700 chip are likely to launch as C2-Ultra and C2-Pro. As a refresher, the Exynos 2600 chip features the following architecture:
- 1x C1-Ultra core running at 3.90GHz (some leaks suggest a clocked frequency of 3.80GHz)
- 3x C1-Pro cores running at 3.25GHz
- 6x C1-Pro cores running at 2.75GHz
- Samsung Xclipse 960 GPU (clock speeds undisclosed) with ray-tracing support
- AI Engine with 32K Mac Neural Processing Unit (NPU)
- LPDDR5X RAM support
While not explicitly mentioned, it remains plausible that Samsung would opt to retain the Exynos 2600 chip's 1+3+6 core configuration for its next-gen Exynos 2700 chip. Also, by leveraging ARM's new C2 cores, the Exynos 2700 chip is likely to achieve an IPC gain of around 35 percent.
What's more, with its prime core clocked at 4.20GHz, we are looking at a theoretical single-core Geekbench 6 score of 4,800 and a multi-core score of 15,000, representing a jump of around 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively, vis-à-vis the Exynos 2600 chip.
Next, in what might constitute its biggest design overhaul, the Exynos 2700 chip is expected to use FOWLP-SbS (Side-by-Side) packaging technology, which utilizes a unified Heat Path Block (copper-based heat sink) for the DRAM and the AP, allowing for an efficient heat dissipation process, especially as the HPB covers the entirety of the AP, unlike the current implementation in the Exynos 2600 chip, where only a part of the AP is in a direct contact with the heat sink.
Of course, Samsung is expected to use AMD architecture-based Xclipse GPU in the Exynos 2700 chip, which is also expected to benefit from the faster data transmission speeds enabled by the LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0, resulting in a performance boost of between 30 and 40 percent. Do note that LPDDR6 supports a throughput of up to 14.4 Gbps. On a tangential note, some reports have recently suggested that Samsung would move to an in-house GPU with the Exynos 2800 chip.
Given the sizable number of intervening months until Samsung officially announces the Exynos 2700 chip, there are, predictably, quite a number of unknowns. For instance, we do not know yet if Samsung would opt for an integrated modem for the Exynos 2700. After all, external modems are substantially less efficient as compared to their integrated counterparts, but allow for a simpler AP fabrication process, which helps boost yields.
Of course, if these tidbits pan out, Samsung's Exynos 2700 chip will likely be a hefty contender to Qualcomm's next-gen iteration of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, allowing the South Korean behemoth to possibly escape Qualcomm's very costly chokehold around its smartphone business.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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