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Qualcomm has started validating Samsung-made samples of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 built on Samsung Foundry's latest 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. The move signals a potential shift in chip sourcing as the industry races toward 2nm performance and efficiency.
Why Qualcomm is hedging its bets
After unveiling the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm began mass production with TSMC. Now the company is running tests on Samsung’s 2nm GAA samples—a pragmatic step toward dual sourcing. Diversifying foundries can reduce supply risk, add negotiation leverage, and possibly lower costs for high-volume flagship chips.
What engineers will be checking
Over the coming months Qualcomm’s teams will put Samsung’s test wafers through a battery of checks. Expect detailed evaluations of:
- Yield stability across multiple runs
- Thermal behavior under sustained loads
- Power efficiency and performance consistency
- Long-term reliability and manufacturing variability
Samsung's comeback story and past hurdles
Samsung has previously struggled with yields and thermals on Qualcomm designs, notably with the Snapdragon 888 and 8 Gen 1. Those problems nudged Qualcomm back to TSMC. Since then, Samsung appears to have tightened its process control—even deploying an Exynos 2500 in the Galaxy Z Flip7 this year without major reported issues. Now, with a 2nm GAA node ready for testing, Samsung is pushing to win business by offering aggressive pricing against TSMC.
What this could mean for devices and prices
If Samsung clears Qualcomm’s tests, the first Snapdragon 2nm chips could show up in devices like the Galaxy Z Flip8 around mid-2026. That timeline depends on yield performance and ramp speed. With wafer costs at advanced TSMC nodes reportedly rising as much as 24% year-over-year, Samsung’s lower pricing could make it an attractive alternative and trigger a foundry price war—which ultimately benefits consumers with lower costs or faster innovation.
Broader industry impact
A healthy rivalry between Samsung and TSMC would accelerate efficiency improvements and keep manufacturing costs in check. Qualcomm’s potential shift toward dual sourcing also highlights a larger trend: chipmakers seeking resilience in their supply chains as process nodes grow more complex and expensive.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on the Exynos 2600, which is expected to target the Galaxy S26 family if it enters mass production before January 2026. Whether Qualcomm finalizes a Samsung partnership or sticks with TSMC, the scramble to 2nm is shaping up to be a defining battleground for flagship silicon.
Source: gizmochina
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