Samsung to launch first in-house mobile GPU for Exynos chip

Samsung Electronics will launch its first in-house mobile GPU for the upcoming Exynos 2600 chip, which is expected to debut in early 2026 in select Galaxy S26 smartphones, according to industry sources.

The new GPU was designed by Samsung engineers, though it still uses AMD’s Radeon DNA architecture under license.

This marks a shift from previous AMD-based designs, as Samsung moves toward eventually owning the full GPU stack.

The Exynos 2600, officially announced on December 19, will be built using Samsung’s 2-nanometer process and will include new hardware to address earlier issues with overheating and performance.

Due to production constraints, the Exynos 2600 is expected to appear in about 30% of Galaxy S26 devices, mainly in Europe and South Korea, while the S26 Ultra model will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.

Samsung began ramping up its GPU development in 2023 by hiring seasoned GPU engineers in the US, and in late 2025 the company recruited former AMD executive John Rayfield.

🔗 Source: The Korea Herald

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Samsung’s 2nm yields determine if thermal claims hold up at scale

SF2 yields sit at 50–60% 1, while TSMC N2 is near 80% 1. That spread puts the new hardware to address overheating for Exynos 2600 at risk for the planned 30% of Galaxy S26 units.
Performance jumps to 12% faster and 25% lower power than Samsung’s 3 nm node 2. With yields rising from around 30% in Q1 3, steady wafers will decide if early S26 phones avoid thermal throttling (automatic performance reduction to control heat).
Density is about 200 million per square millimeter for SF2 versus 235 million for TSMC N2 1. Any efficiency edge must come from the chip design rather than the node.

New GPU architecture creates opening for mobile graphics tool vendors

In-house GPU on licensed AMD Radeon DNA (RDNA) tech opens demand for optimizers, driver checks, and profilers. Vendors can engage Samsung’s US GPU team built since 2023.
Development drivers from major vendors have Vulkan 1.4 conformance 4, and about 85% of active Android devices support Vulkan 5. Middleware with Vulkan pipelines, compilers for High-Level Shading Language (HLSL) and OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) 4, plus cross platform tests can line up for Samsung docs plus SDK (software development kit) releases.
Studios and engine teams face unknowns on API support, driver maturity, and features like ray tracing (a rendering technique for realistic lighting) or variable rate shading (VRS, a method that adjusts shading workload to boost performance). Direct technical ties can shape the roadmap and bring optimization guides before the 2026 S26 launch.