With all of the upheaval resulting from Samsung's apparent cancellation of the S26 Edge and filling the resulting void with the Galaxy S26 Plus, it is hardly a surprise that the South Korean behemoth's S-series launch cadence is facing undue uncertainty at the moment, especially given the sheer number of variables.
Now, a new report has bolstered an earlier one, with both projecting a February 2026 launch for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series. Concurrently, the report has further clarified the expected Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5/Exynos 2600 share mix.
The likelihood of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series launching in February 2026 has just received a major boost
South Korea's Electronic Times (ETNews) is now reporting that Samsung will hold its next 'Galaxy Unpacked' event on February 25, 2026, seemingly confirming an earlier report by the tipster, Jukan (@Jukanlosreve).
These two reports now contradict the one from South Korea's ChosunBiz, where the publication had declared that Samsung had managed to rally its proverbial troops and was gunning for a late January unveil of the Galaxy S26 series. Of course, it remains a possibility that ETNews was simply regurgitating Jukan's earlier reporting, especially given the fact that the publication chose to mention the date for the Galaxy Unpacked event at the very tail-end of its report.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip vs. Samsung's Exynos 2600
Meanwhile, we've been reporting over the past few days that Qualcomm's management was confident of retaining a 75 percent share of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 series via the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, leaving an implied 25 percent share for Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600.
ETNews has now added some color to the reporting around this projected Snapdragon/Exynos mix, noting that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 would command a 70 percent overall share of the Galaxy S26 series, with Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600 powering the residual 30 percent.
As we reported before, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will be exclusively powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. The model commands a 50 percent share of the Galaxy S-series sales. Moreover, Qualcomm's flagship chip will also power some of the other S26 variants in select regions, including the US. Nonetheless, the base S26 and the S26+ will use Exynos 2600, especially in the EU, South Korea, and a number of developing countries.
According to ETNews, the Exynos 2600, manufactured using Samsung's new 2nm GAA process, delivers satisfactory performance due to features such as Heat Pass Block (HPB), but still suffers from residual yield issues, which have limited the volume production for the new chip. Do note that ZDNET reported yesterday that Exynos 2600 had achieved stable yields, with major gains in efficiency and thermal controls, to the tune of around 30 percent, and a significantly bolstered NPU for improved AI performance. ETNews appears to be contradicting some aspects of that report today.
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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