Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra and S26 Benchmark Leaks Reveal a Tale of Two Chips

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series hasn't been officially announced yet, but benchmark scores for two of its key models have already appeared on Geekbench, giving us our first concrete look at the hardware powering Samsung's next flagships. The listings, which surfaced under model numbers SM-S948 (Galaxy S26 Ultra) and SM-S942 (Galaxy S26), point to a fascinating divergence in how Samsung might tune Qualcomm's latest silicon across its lineup.

The Chip Strategy: Underclock and Overclock

Both phones are listed with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, confirmed by the Adreno 840 GPU. However, the clock speeds tell a more nuanced story than a simple "same chip for everyone" approach.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra appears to be using a slightly underclocked version of the chip. Its listing shows two high-performance cores running at 4.19GHz, with six efficiency cores at 3.63GHz. This is notably lower than the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 specification, which runs its dual high-performance cores at 4.61GHz alongside six cores at 3.63GHz.

This underclocking might seem counterintuitive for a flagship device, but it could serve several purposes. First, it reduces thermal output and power consumption, which is critical for a device with a powerful chipset, a large display, and potentially new AI features that need to run continuously. Second, it allows Samsung to use chips that might not meet the full 4.61GHz spec but are otherwise perfectly functional, improving manufacturing yield and potentially keeping costs in check.

Meanwhile, the standard Galaxy S26 appears to be running a mildly overclocked variant. Its listing shows two cores boosted to 4.74GHz, with the remaining six cores at 3.63GHz. This is a more aggressive tuning than the standard chip, suggesting Samsung might be pushing the base model harder to differentiate it from previous generations or to compete more directly with other Android flagships.

RAM and OS: Standardized Specs

Both devices are listed with 12GB of RAM and Android 16, which aligns with expectations for Samsung's 2026 flagships. The 12GB RAM configuration has become the baseline for premium Android phones, and Android 16 would be the expected OS version for a device launching in early 2026. This consistency across models suggests Samsung is maintaining its multi-year update promise and keeping the core user experience similar regardless of which model buyers choose.

Performance Implications

The benchmark results show that both phones offer similar performance despite the clock speed differences. This makes sense given that both are running the same architecture. The underclocked Ultra might score slightly lower in peak synthetic benchmarks but could maintain performance better under sustained load due to lower thermal throttling. The overclocked base model might achieve higher burst performance but could face thermal limitations sooner.

This approach mirrors what we've seen in the PC CPU market, where manufacturers bin chips based on their ability to run at certain speeds. The difference here is that Samsung appears to be using these different bins across its product stack rather than just within the same model line.

What This Means for Buyers

If these listings are accurate, the Galaxy S26 series might offer more performance variety than previous generations. Buyers choosing the base S26 could actually get slightly better peak performance than the Ultra in short bursts, while Ultra buyers might get better sustained performance and battery life. This could make the buying decision more interesting, as it's no longer a simple "more expensive equals better in every way" equation.

The Galaxy S26 series is rumored to debut on February 25 in San Francisco, with a sale date in March. With these benchmark leaks already out in the wild, we can expect more details about the devices to surface in the coming weeks as Samsung's launch event approaches.

Source: Geekbench | Via: GSMArena