- We may have another sneak preview of the Galaxy S26 designs
- There’s also a fresh rumor around the Samsung Exynos 2600 chip
- We’re expecting three flagship Galaxy S26 phones next year
We’re expecting three new contenders for our best Android phones list when Samsung unveils the Galaxy S26 series sometime early next year, and a couple of fresh leaks have given us a better idea of what to expect from these devices.
First up, as spotted by Android Authority, there are images of the Galaxy S26 handsets hidden in the as-yet-unreleased code for Samsung One UI 8.5 – the major software update due to roll out in 2026 at the same time as the new flagship phones.
We get clear renders for the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Plus, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which are the three handsets expected to launch in January, February, or March (it’s been reported that there won’t be a Galaxy S26 Edge next year).
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These pictures line up with previously leaked images of the phones, with vertically stacked cameras sitting on their own island and curved corners. It looks as though there won’t be a huge number of design changes from the Samsung Galaxy S25 handsets.
A tale of two chips
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 from Qualcomm (Image credit: Qualcomm)
Our second leak comes from South Korean outlet IT Home (via GSMArena): apparently Samsung’s plan is to just use its own Exynos 2600 processor in its home country of South Korea, and use Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets everywhere else.
Current production issues and previous technological problems have contributed to the decision, according to the IT Home article. It’s worth noting that none of the Galaxy S25 phones featured the Exynos 2500, though it does appear in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7.
It would be something of a surprise if the Exynos 2600 was ready to go in time and only showed up in models sold in South Korea. Samsung has previously pushed its own chips into more markets – and was previously rumored to be doing so again in 2026.
Still, Samsung’s Exynos plans are notoriously hard to predict, and change year on year (as we’ve seen in 2025). For models and markets where the Exynos 2600 isn’t used, it’s almost certain the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be deployed instead.
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