What you need to know
- Rumors claim the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could go down the dual-chip route like the Galaxy S26 and feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon and the Exynos 2600.
- These claims started on Naver, with the tipster suggesting Samsung is running into cost issues with the Exynos and that Qualcomm's offer was "favorable."
- The Galaxy S26 featured the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the U.S. and several other regions, leaving South Korea with the Exynos 2600.
There hasn't been too much excitement in the rumors for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, but this latest overseas claim could change that.
Earlier today (June 4), frequent tipster Lanzuk on Naver posted an allegation about the chip inside Samsung's next Flip (via 9to5Google). The rumor suggests the Flip 8 could take a dual-chip approach, similar to what Samsung did with the Galaxy S26 series. Lanzuk states the Flip 8 will feature a "Snapdragon in specific regions." Moreover, the company will also seek to spread its Exynos chip around to other regions where Qualcomm's SoC will not be available.
The tipster then went down an interesting route, claiming this could be a cost-conscious decision by the company. Supposedly, the cost to produce the next in-house chip (the Exynos 2600) is far too high. It would be even more egregious if Samsung were to feature this chipset in all markets that the Flip 8 would arrive in.
This points us toward Qualcomm's Snapdragon. The tipster claims Qualcomm approached Samsung with a "favorable price" to use its Snapdragon in the Flip 8. If that's the case, then perhaps we're to expect the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 to mark the return of this chip series in the Flip.
The story so far
As previously mentioned, the Galaxy S26 series went down this dual-chip route earlier this year. The Exynos 2600 debuted late last year and was the world's first chip built on the 2nm process for phones. Samsung integrated a new CPU layout to increase the chip's performance and efficiency, while also working on its heat generation, which has been a common (frustrating) problem for Exynos.
The Galaxy S26 series features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the U.S. and a few other regions; however, South Korea got Samsung's Exynos 2600. It seems things have changed with Samsung's production of its in-house chip. Reports late in December suggested the Flip 8 was only looking at an Exynos future—we were thinking the same.
On the other hand, recent rumors about the Flip 8 haven't been so exciting. In fact, they've been quite boring, but that could be a good thing. The phone's 6.9-inch display and 4-inch cover screen could remain. Samsung is rumored to make the Flip 8 a bit slimmer when folded, too. All in all, if we're looking at things from a price perspective, maybe it won't take that much of a toll.
Android Central's Take
Hearing that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 could arrive on the Flip 8 is fantastic. There's always been this issue between Samsung's Exynos and Qualcomm's chips. Some markets gravitate toward one (the latter) more than the other. There's no hiding Samsung's Exynos problems, but the2600 wasn't that bad. In actuality, its early benchmarks were quite positive, showing the company really put in the effort to make it better. I'm still unsure about where Qualcomm's chip could return for the Flip 8, but the U.S. seems high in the probability meter.
