“In silence, we listened.” That line from Samsung’s short Exynos 2600 teaser video was designed to sound like contrition — a promise that the company heard years of criticism about its in-house chips and rebuilt its silicon from the ground up. The reality is messier: a shiny teaser, promising marketing copy and a headline-grabbing 2nm GAA node — but conflicting reports about whether the wafers are actually rolling off the line in volume.
A teaser and a question
Samsung has put the Exynos 2600 front and centre in its marketing push ahead of the Galaxy S26 cycle, and the timing isn’t accidental. Flagship chipsets shape the narrative for an entire year of phones. The teaser leans into that: refined at the core, optimized at every level. But while the marketing feels confident, multiple industry write-ups and a Korea-based report suggest the foundry side may not be done polishing the product.
The Galaxy S26 preview already hints at a chipset showdown across regions, and Samsung’s promotional push raises expectations for what Exynos might deliver. The company is also expected to show more at early events around the Unpacked/CES window — and there’s even talk that foldable prototypes like the TriFold could appear alongside the S26 family, underscoring how central silicon is to Samsung’s device roadmap. See our Galaxy S26 coverage for context and the TriFold hints in Samsung’s device strategy gallery and prototype write-up.
Mass production: started, paused, or still looming?
Conflicting signals make this a fuzzy story. Earlier leaks suggested Samsung had begun high-volume production with reported yields near 50% in September — an encouraging start for a first-generation 2nm GAA node. But a Money Today note picked up by several outlets says Exynos 2600 has "yet to enter mass production" and is only expected to do so soon. Other trade reports, including DigiTimes and industry observers, have suggested a late-November or imminent kick-off of mass production. Truth is probably somewhere between: pilot and low-volume runs are almost certainly happening, but full-scale, cost-effective mass production requires higher yields than Samsung has publicly confirmed.
Yields matter here in the ugly, pragmatic way they always do. Low yields mean more defective dies per wafer and higher per-chip costs. Samsung reportedly targeted 70% yield stability by the end of 2025 to make the node viable for external customers — and at lower yields it makes sense to limit deployment.
Why Exynos might remain a domestic play
There’s precedent. Historically, many Exynos-equipped Galaxy flagships have been sold predominantly in South Korea — overseas variants often ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon parts. Analysts and at least one Korean research firm point to three recurring issues behind that decision:
- Kernel security vulnerabilities in past Exynos drivers and firmware
- Lower manufacturing yields compared with competitors
- Thermal concerns under sustained load
Samsung has been addressing those problems. The company says it added a feature called Heat Pass Block to improve heat transfer (a heatsink-like structure on-die), and it moved to fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) with the Exynos 2400 to help thermals and integration. Executives have claimed temperature drops of roughly 30% from these changes. Still, even if thermal design and packaging are improved, security hardening and consistent yields are non-negotiable for global rollouts.
There’s a commercial constraint, too: Qualcomm reportedly has a supply agreement that covers a large share of Galaxy S shipments, which could legally limit how many S26 units Samsung can equip with its own silicon without penalties.
Bigger picture: why this matters beyond Samsung
Samsung’s Exynos program isn’t just about one phone family. The company’s foundry business and relationships with customers were dented this year when some large clients moved to TSMC. Success with a 2nm GAA mobile processor would underline Samsung’s advanced-node credibility and could help the foundry win new orders for more than smartphones — think high-bandwidth memory and bespoke chips for AI and automotive partners. Samsung itself is gearing up HBM4 production in H2 2026 to serve customers like NVIDIA, signaling the company wants to be a broader supplier of advanced components.
But the Exynos story is a reputational test as much as a technical one. Past chips (Exynos 2200 among them) carried performance and efficiency complaints that linger in the market’s memory. If the 2600 falls short on real-world efficiency or security, Samsung risks reinforcing the old narrative rather than rewriting it.
What to watch in the weeks ahead
Expect clarity to arrive in stages: official performance numbers and demos, formal mass-production announcements from Samsung Foundry, and hands-on reviews once devices ship. The early launch window — Unpacked and CES season — is when Samsung will have to show either undeniable hardware progress or face skepticism.
If yields remain tepid, Exynos versions of the S26 will likely be limited to South Korea and a handful of other markets. If Samsung has truly tightened thermals and security, the 2600 could be a comeback story — but only if production scales without prohibitively high defect rates.
Either way, this is a make-or-break moment for Samsung’s mobile silicon ambitions: a mix of engineering, manufacturing execution and commercial deals will decide whether the “we listened” line becomes marketing theatre or a credible turnaround.