For years, the smartphone chip conversation has been pretty straightforward. A phone with Snapdragon inside was almost always assumed to be the better option. If it had Exynos or MediaTek, the reaction was usually more doubtful. Qualcomm earned its reputation over time, but by 2026, that hierarchy no longer feels as solid.
MediaTek’s last couple of Dimensity 9000-series chips have been going neck and neck with Snapdragon 8-series SoCs, while Exynos has typically trailed behind both. Now, though, the race has become a lot more interesting.
My recent time with the Galaxy S26, powered by Exynos 2600, has already surprised me in terms of performance. And once you widen the lens to include the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the S26 Ultra and the Dimensity 9500 in devices like the Oppo Find X9, the whole “Snapdragon automatically equals better” idea starts showing some cracks.
| Benchmark | Galaxy S26 (Exynos 2600) | Galaxy S26 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) | Oppo Find X9 (Dimensity 9500) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu Total | 3,101,654 | 3,638,265 | 3,512,048 |
| Geekbench 6 Single-Core | 3,036 | 3,524 | 3,207 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi-Core | 10,534 | 10,823 | 9,345 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme | 6,366 | 6,519 | 7,142 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test Stability (%) | 53.5 | 63.2 | 54.9 |
| Temperature After Stress Test (°C) | 40.2 | 38.7 | 39.2 |
Galaxy S26 was a pleasant surprise
The easiest surprise here is that the Exynos 2600 does not show up as some obvious weak link. In my testing, the base Galaxy S26 put up 3,036 single-core and 10,534 multi-core in Geekbench 6, plus an AnTuTu score of 3,101,654. Historically, Samsung released its flagship devices in two variants. Historically, Samsung released its flagship devices in two variants. North America, China, and Japan got Snapdragon versions, while the rest of the world got Exynos processors. The company faced a lot of criticism for that split because older flagship models on Exynos chips often fell behind their Snapdragon-powered counterparts.
That, along with chip production yield issues, pushed Samsung to make a few generations of Galaxy S phones exclusively with Snapdragon processors. But it looks like Exynos is back. On 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, the Galaxy S26 scored 6366. The stress-test results are a little more mixed, delivering 53.5% stability in the stress test. These are healthy numbers for a smaller flagship, especially one many people were probably ready to dismiss the moment they saw “Exynos” on the spec sheet.
The S26 Ultra is faster, but not by much
The Galaxy S26 Ultra still has advantages, and that’s not really surprising. Its Wild Life Extreme Stress Test posted a best loop score of 6,519 and 63.2% stability, helped by its larger vapor chamber cooling setup. So yes, the overall thermal performance was better, but not by the kind of margin that completely changes the conversation when you compare it with the standard S26. In both AnTuTu and Geekbench, the Galaxy S26 Ultra led the pack. Exynos still lags a bit, but the gap is no longer the kind you would notice in ordinary day-to-day performance.
The S26 Ultra is clearly faster, but the difference is nowhere near as dramatic as older Snapdragon-versus-Exynos comparisons used to be. Especially when you compare the GeekBench scores, the performance is almost identical. Even without the upgraded cooling setup, the Galaxy S26 managed to stay surprisingly close to the S26 Ultra in the stress test. Where the Ultra does pull ahead more clearly is stability, which matters more once you start talking about sustained performance under load.
MediaTek is the part that makes the race fun
The Dimensity 9500 in the Oppo Find X9 Pro is what really makes this conversation interesting. Its Geekbench 6 single-core score of 3,203 beats the base Galaxy S26, while its AnTuTu score of 3,512,048 edges ahead as well. On 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, it posted 7,142, which puts it above both the S26 and the S26 Ultra.
MediaTek is no longer showing up as the “other” flagship chip brand. It is putting up top-tier numbers and staying in the same conversation as Qualcomm and Samsung’s in-house silicon. For a long time, Dimensity chips were seen as the more budget-friendly alternative powering cheaper mid-range and entry-level phones. Results like these show how much ground MediaTek has made up at the high end. There is still a weak point here, which is the 54.9% stress-test stability, which trails the S26 Ultra.
Snapdragon still makes excellent chips, and the S26 Ultra proves that easily. But reputation alone is no longer a substitute for looking at the actual results. The Exynos 2600 has enough performance to not fall behind anymore, and the Dimensity 9500 is close enough in raw horsepower to make the flagship chip race feel properly competitive again.
