Samsung's Galaxy S26 faces criticism for its Exynos 2600 variant's poor battery performance. The phone, sold in Europe, uses the Exynos 2600 chip while the US and China versions feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Android Addicts conducted a detailed battery drain test comparing identical S26 models with 4,300mAh batteries. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 lasted significantly longer, surviving nearly 39% beyond the Exynos 2600's runtime before shutting down after 6 hours and 48 minutes. Overheating was a major factor, as the Exynos version consistently consumed more power during tasks like 4K video recording, social media use, and video calls.

The Snapdragon model remained cooler and more efficient throughout the test period.