Samsung Exynos And AMD β Chip Performance Tripled But Still Behind Qualcomm
Samsung's partnership with AMD to integrate RDNA GPU architecture into its Exynos processors has produced a threefold performance improvement since 2022, but the chips still trail Qualcomm Snapdragon and MediaTek Dimensity competitors by 9-19% in 2026 (according to Android Authority analysis, April 2026). The collaboration began with the Exynos 2200 and has now reached the Exynos 2600 powering the Samsung Galaxy S26 in select markets.
How Much Has Exynos Performance Improved Since 2022?
Based on benchmarks compiled by Android Authority, the improvement from Exynos 2200 to Exynos 2600 is significant. Single-core CPU performance increased 111%, while multi-core jumped 211% β meaning overall performance nearly tripled. For graphics, 3DMark Wild Life Extreme scores rose 212%, and the Solar Bay ray-tracing test showed a 253% improvement.
Why Does Exynos Still Trail Despite Major Improvements?
Despite impressive internal gains, the Exynos 2600 still lags behind competitors. In ray-tracing tests, the Exynos 2600 falls behind MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 by approximately 9%. For traditional rasterization performance β most important for everyday gaming β the gap widens to 19% compared to Qualcomm and MediaTek chips (according to 3DMark 2026 benchmark data).
Android Authority noted that AMD's Xclipse GPU "hasn't delivered a clear advantage" in rasterization performance. Although Samsung was first to launch ray-tracing on smartphones, Arm's subsequent Immortalis GPUs outperformed the AMD implementation β in the exact area where AMD was supposed to dominate.
FAQ
Q: Does the Samsung Galaxy S26 in Malaysia use Exynos or Snapdragon? A: Samsung typically uses Snapdragon for premium markets including Malaysia. Exynos is used in select markets like Europe and parts of Southeast Asia for certain models.
Q: How much has Exynos 2600 improved over Exynos 2200? A: According to Android Authority, single-core CPU improved 111%, multi-core 211%, and graphics improved over 200%.
