Samsung's Exynos 2600 Chip Promises Revolutionary Camera Upgrades for Galaxy S26 Series

The Exynos 2600 could bring some impressive camera upgrades to the Galaxy S26

The image signal processor may also be 30% more power efficient than the Exynos 2400's ISP. Although the Galaxy S25 series is exclusively powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon silicon, Samsung is expected to bring its Exynos chips back for its 2026 phones. We have heard some interesting information about the Exynos 2600, like having a "heat pass block" to keep the chip's temperature down. Now we're learning more about Samsung's next SoC from a new leak. A tipster who goes by @SPYGO19726 on X (formerly Twitter) has leaked some new information on the Exynos 2600. The tipster claims this information comes from internal documentation and conversations with engineers familiar with the platform. According to the leak, the chip's image signal processor (ISP) will be able to handle a single 320MP camera or three 108MP cameras at the same time. The tipster also mentions that the Exynos 2600 features an HDR engine that can combine up to five frames at once and process 14-bit RAW images. This could help the Galaxy S26 capture photos with better color accuracy and more detail in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. On the video side, it's said to be capable of 8K video recording with HDR10+ support at 60 frames per second (fps) and 4K video recording at 120fps. Reportedly, it will use both optical image stabilization (OIS) and AI-based electronic image stabilization (EIS). It looks like we could see an improvement in power efficiency as well. The leak claims that the Exynos 2600's ISP draws 30% less power than the ISP used for the Exynos 2400. A couple of other details from this leak include 1.8TB/s of internal bandwidth and support for AI features like scene segmentation, super-res zoom, and per-object tone curve.

Samsung's next chip could finally fix what's holding your phone's camera back

Samsung's Exynos 2600 leak hints at a total camera engine overhaul, from AI-powered image fusion to 8K 60 fps HDR10+ video capture. What's Happened? A fresh leak about Samsung's upcoming Exynos 2600 chipset suggests major upgrades to its camera engine, potentially benefitting mobile filmmakers and creators. According to X user @SPYGO19726, citing internal documents and conversations with engineers familiar with the matter, Samsung is redesigning its entire imaging stack -- likely including the image signal processor (ISP) and related components. The overhaul reportedly brings AI-driven image synthesis and enhanced RAW control under one unified ISP-NPU pipeline. Per the leak, the Exynos 2600's ISP will be capable of handling up to 320MP from a single camera sensor or three concurrent 108MP camera streams. For comparison, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 supports three 48MP streams. Why is this important? The Galaxy S26 series isn't expected to feature major camera sensor upgrades, so the rumored ISP improvements come as a relief to enthusiasts and prospective buyers. The ISP is also said to support concurrent image capture from up to four sensors. While multi-camera photo and video recording is already possible on smartphones, these improvements could focus on composite image capture, combining data from multiple sensors for enhanced detail and dynamic range. However, I'm more interested in the claim about five-frame HDR fusion and 14-bit RAW capture capability. While the former could merge multiple exposures to achieve a noticeable improvement in dynamic range, 14-bit RAW capture (vs. 12-bit RAW control on current flagships) would provide greater tonal depth and flexibility for post-processing in professional editing tools. Additionally, the leak mentions support for native 8K 60 fps HDR10+ video, which would be a breakthrough for smartphone cameras. While 8K recording is currently available on a few flagships, such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, OnePlus 15, and vivo X300 series -- it's limited to 30 fps. Recommended Videos Why should I care? For a smartphone ISP to handle 8K 60 fps HDR10+ video, it must achieve extremely high data throughput. The leak claims the Exynos 2600's ISP-NPU internal bandwidth reaches 1.8 TB/s. If true, that means professional photographers, videographers, and creators could expect significant gains in dynamic range, color accuracy, and editing flexibility. While it's unlikely that any Galaxy S26 model will ship with a 320MP sensor (the S26 Ultra is rumored to retain its 200MP main camera), this ISP upgrade suggests Samsung is preparing for much higher data processing demands, resulting in tangible improvements in overall image and video quality. OK, what's next? If Samsung successfully implements and optimizes these features for the Galaxy S26 lineup, it could mark a major leap forward in smartphone imaging. There's also a chance that the smartphone will use AI extensively, similar to how Google is currently using Gemini AI for pixel-level upscaling on the Pixel 10 Pro. The Exynos 2600 is expected to power the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra in most regions, while U.S. models -- at least the Ultra -- will likely use the latest Snapdragon chipset (in its customary for Galaxy variant).