Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 Will Exclusively Be Mass Produced On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ Process, With A Rumor Claiming That Samsung Has Lost The Production Bid

TSMC has once again taken advantage of its superior lithography compared to Samsung as it will be exclusively mass produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 for next year. We have previously reported that the chipset maker wanted the Korean foundry to enter its supply chain as it would result in a cost reduction. Unfortunately, Samsung has been struggling with its yield problem for quite a while regarding its 3nm GAA process, leaving Qualcomm with little choice but to opt for the ‘tried and tested’ choice, TSMC.

Samsung attempted to cut its losses by obtaining orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite but failed in that endeavor too

With the 2nm trial production run showing immense promise for TSMC as the latter has reportedly achieved a 60 percent yield rate, Qualcomm has likely shown confidence in its foundry partner to once again hand over the entire order tally. According to a report published by The Bell and spotted by tipster @Jukanlosreve, losing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 orders was not the only blow that Samsung suffered. Early next year, Qualcomm is expected to announce the Snapdragon 8s Elite, which will be positioned as the less capable version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its current flagship SoC.

Apparently, Samsung has failed to garner any orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite too, indicating that the company’s cutting-edge semiconductor division is in complete shambles. As for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, we should witness the silicon mass produced on TSMC’s improved 3nm ‘N3P’ node, bringing in some improvements over the N3E variant. Earlier, we reported that Qualcomm started testing the chipset earlier than previously anticipated, as it hopes to obtain an edge against Apple’s A19 and A19 Pro arriving for the iPhone 17 family.

With the Dimensity 9500 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 getting support for ARM’s SME or Scalable Matrix Extension, we could see up to a 20 percent multi-core improvement. Perhaps the only draw of exclusively placing orders with TSMC is that Qualcomm could be forced to raise prices again next year, harming the profit margins for a bevy of smartphone partners. To be fair, it is not Qualcomm’s fault alone, as it needs to remain competitive in the silicon race by producing cutting-edge SoCs.

With Samsung failing to build confidence in such companies, the dual-sourcing approach has gone out the window, severing Qualcomm’s ability to ask for better wafer pricing from TSMC. The only way for the San Diego firm to lower the silicon bill is for MediaTek to provide exceptional pricing for the Dimensity 9500.

News Source: The Bell