Seoul [South Korea], December 29 : Samsung Electronics is developing its first in-house mobile graphics processing unit (GPU) for its upcoming Exynos 2600 chip. According to a report by The Korea Herald, this move aims to reduce the company's reliance on technology from other firms like AMD. The new GPU is expected to power certain models of the Galaxy S26 smartphone series, which is scheduled for release in early 2026.
Industry sources state that Samsung engineers designed the layout of this new GPU themselves. While the design is optimized for Samsung's own 2-nanometer manufacturing process, the underlying core architecture is still licensed from AMD. This setup is a middle step for the company. Samsung plans to fully own both the design and the architecture of its graphics chips by 2027.
Owning the full rights to its GPU helps Samsung in several ways. It removes the need to pay fees to other companies for using their technology. It also allows Samsung to build hardware that works better with its own artificial intelligence (AI) and system-on-chip plans. By doing this, Samsung joins a small group of companies, including Apple, Qualcomm, and Intel, that control their entire graphics technology stack.
Control over this technology is important for more than just saving money. It helps the company improve how AI works directly on devices like phones, robots, and virtual reality headsets. To reach this goal, Samsung began hiring expert engineers in the United States in 2023. "A high-profile move came in late 2025 with the recruitment of John Rayfield, a former AMD vice president of GPU architecture," the report said.
The Exynos 2600 chip was officially announced on December 19. It includes a new feature called a Heat Path Block to help the phone stay cool. In the past, some Samsung chips had problems with getting too hot or not performing well. These new updates are meant to fix those old issues and rebuild trust in Samsung's high-end chips.
However, the use of the Exynos 2600 will be limited at first. Because of challenges in manufacturing the 2-nanometer chips, the Exynos 2600 is expected to be used in only about 30 per cent of Galaxy S26 devices. These phones will mostly be sold in Europe and Korea. The most expensive model, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, will continue to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chips everywhere in the world.