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| The Exynos 2600 is poised to come with some serious GPU prowess |
With the official unveiling of the Galaxy S26 series just around the corner, the tech world is buzzing with new leaks. The latest insight focuses on the heart of at least two of the upcoming models: Samsung's own Exynos 2600 system-on-a-chip. After earlier hints that its GPU could rival Qualcomm's best, a new benchmark test puts its next-generation graphics power on full display, particularly in the demanding area of ray tracing.
A Deep Dive into Ray Tracing Prowess
The new data comes from Basemark's In Vitro benchmark, a specialized tool designed to measure the ray tracing performance of mobile GPUs. The results page, which you can explore directly on Basemark's Powerboard, reveals some compelling numbers.
The listing for the base Galaxy S26 (model SM-S942B) shows a score of 8,262 points. The details confirm the device is running on the S5E9965 board—code for the Exynos 2600—with its Xclipse 960 GPU handling the graphics. Intriguingly, the only device that scores higher than this production-ready phone in the current ranking is another Exynos 2600, but one mounted on an engineering test board, suggesting even more untapped potential.
Explore the full benchmark details for the Samsung SM-S942B on Basemark's Powerboard.
How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition?
The numbers tell a promising story. In this specific test, the Xclipse 960's performance comes in approximately 10% faster than the Adreno 840 GPU found in Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This is a notable lead in a critical next-gen gaming metric.
However, it's wise to add a note of caution here. The Powerboard benchmark suite has, in past iterations, shown a tendency to favor the architecture of Exynos GPUs. This means the real-world performance gap in actual games and applications might be narrower than this synthetic benchmark suggests. The true test will come with hands-on reviews and side-by-side gameplay comparisons.
Unpacking the Xclipse 960 Mystery
The architecture of the Xclipse 960 itself remains a topic of interesting speculation. Reports are currently split. One line of information suggests the GPU is an in-house design by Samsung's own engineers, marking a significant step in their silicon independence. Another credible report contends that it utilizes AMD's latest RDNA 4 intellectual property, continuing the fruitful collaboration that brought ray tracing to mobile Exynos chips in the first place. Whichever path Samsung took, the early results are undeniably impressive.
A Potential Comeback Story for Exynos?
This GPU news is particularly significant when paired with earlier leaks. A previous Geekbench listing implied that the CPU performance of the Exynos 2600 would be on par with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. If Samsung manages to deliver consistent, high-performance silicon where both the CPU and GPU are competitive, it would mark a major turnaround.
For years, Exynos chips have faced criticism for falling behind equivalently-specced alternatives from Qualcomm and MediaTek, especially in power efficiency and sustained performance. If the Xclipse 960 simply "keeps up" with the Adreno 840 in daily use and gaming, it would go a long way in assuaging longtime fan concerns and could make the Exynos-powered Galaxy S26 models truly compelling options globally.
All eyes will now be on Samsung's launch event. Will the Exynos 2600 finally deliver the balanced, top-tier performance that has eluded the series for years? Based on these latest benchmarks, the prospects look brighter than they have in a long time.
Source: Basemark In Vitro Benchmark via Powerboard.
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| Exynos 2600 GPU rating |
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| Exynos 2600 GPU benchmark |