Finally! Samsung Galaxy S26 is set to receive desired camera improvements

Who remembers the Galaxy S22 Ultra comparison videos, where the European Exynos lost to the American Snapdragon in everything from performance to battery life to night videos? Now, Samsung is reportedly preparing for a comeback with the Exynos 2600, which the Galaxy S26 and possibly other models in the series should receive. And surprisingly, the main talk is about an improved image processor that could finally catch up with Qualcomm. But beware – the leak comes from a source that has previously spread fake news.

Exynos vs Snapdragon: A Painful History

Let’s be frank: in recent years, the Exynos in the camera was simply worse than the Snapdragon. Comparison videos showed differences, especially in low light – the European model with Exynos produced noisier videos, less stable shots, and overall worse color rendition. The ISP (Image Signal Processor) in Samsung simply wasn’t on par with what Qualcomm offered in its chips.

And that’s precisely why Samsung has favored Snapdragon for most markets, including Europe, in recent years. Exynos only made it into basic models or was completely omitted. However, there is now talk that the entire Galaxy S26 series could receive the Exynos 2600 – including the European market.

ISP with Console Graphics and Professional Camera

According to the leaker, Samsung is working on a completely redesigned image processing system in the Exynos 2600. And no, it’s not just marketing talk – the source provides specific numbers that sound really interesting:

• 320 MPx from a single sensor or 108 MPx from three sensors simultaneously
• 14-bit RAW pipeline with 5x image stacking in HDR
• 8K video at 60 fps in HDR10+ or 4K at 120 fps
• Burst mode: 30 fps in 108MPx RAW quality
• Throughput between ISP and NPU: 1.8 TB/s
• Hybrid OIS and AI-EIS stabilization in real-time
• 30% lower power consumption than Exynos 2400

It sounds like a photographer’s wet dream in a phone’s body. But here’s where the problem begins.

Why You Shouldn’t Believe It Too Much

The leaker who published this information is currently under fire. The reason? They have previously spread fake leaks, including recent Galaxy S26 specifications that turned out to be fabricated. The Geekbench results they showed have not yet been verified by anyone.

This isn’t the first time such “amazing improvements” for Exynos have appeared before launch. And it has always turned out that reality is considerably less rosy. Samsung certainly has the motivation to improve the ISP – after all, the Galaxy S26 is supposed to be the first commercial chip on a 2nm architecture – but to jump from the problematic Exynos 2400 to a top-tier ISP surpassing Snapdragon? That would be a truly impressive leap.

What Does This Mean?

Take this as an interesting hint of a possible direction Samsung wants to take. An improved ISP will certainly come – the question is, how closely will the specifications align with this leak. If Samsung could truly match or surpass Snapdragon in image processing, it would be great news for European customers.

Do you believe the Exynos 2600 will finally catch up to Snapdragon?

Source: Notebookcheck