Samsung still hasn’t fixed Exynos overheating issues, and it’s ruining my Galaxy S26

The Exynos 2600 chip in the Galaxy S26 Plus exhibits higher temperatures and more aggressive throttling compared to Snapdragon handsets, such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In gaming tests, including Asphalt Legends, CoD Mobile, and Genshin Impact, the Exynos 2600-powered Galaxy S26 Plus showed temperature increases of 6°C, 4.8°C, and 3.5°C, respectively, resulting in performance drops, particularly in longer gaming sessions. For instance, during a 13-minute Asphalt Legends gameplay session, the Exynos 2600's performance dropped from 113fps to 80fps, a 29% decline.

The persistent overheating issues with Exynos chips undermine Samsung's efforts to compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. Historically, Exynos chipsets have faced criticism for inconsistent performance, overheating, and poor efficiency, prompting Samsung to skip using Exynos in the Galaxy S23 series. The company's decision to reintroduce Exynos with the Galaxy S26 series was likely influenced by improvements in its 3nm process and partnerships, such as with AMD for the Xclipse GPU. However, these advancements have not fully addressed the overheating concerns.

The implications of these findings are significant for Samsung, as customers in different regions experience varying gaming performance depending on whether they have a Snapdragon or Exynos-powered device. For example, Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus customers may pay upwards of $799 for two different gaming experiences, depending on their location. To remain competitive, Samsung needs to address the overheating issues and performance throttling, potentially through its long-rumored custom GPU.