Samsung may build Qualcomm's most advanced chip ever for the Galaxy S26 series
TL;DR Samsung could reportedly fabricate one variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Qualcomm.
While the normal chip would be made with a 3nm TSMC process, Samsung's could be a 2nm chip.
This 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 may debut with the Galaxy S26.
There's arguably no single component that more influences how a smartphone comes together than the choice of its system-on-a-chip (SoC). And while a phone is a whole lot more than just how fast it can crunch numbers, the decision around which SoC to use influences everything from the screens and cameras a handset can support, to how power-efficient the phone will be. Right now, Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips dominate popular Android hardware, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite powering many of this year's best phones. But if this latest report we're hearing turns out to be accurate, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 could shake up the SoC industry in some surprising ways.
Qualcomm designs its Snapdragon chips, but when it comes to actually manufacturing them, it has historically relied upon fabrication partners like TSMC and Samsung. But in recent years, its highest-end flagship chips have exclusively been produced by TSMC. That's included the Snapdragon 8 Elite, built on TSMC's 3nm process.
We've recently been talking about the next step forward, and when we might expect to see 2nm chips start to become commercially viable. That's included a rumor that Google could get an early start with a 2nm Tensor G6 chip for the Pixel 11, made by TSMC. While at the time we hadn't heard of earlier plans for a competing 2nm chip, that's now changing.
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
According to South Korea's Business Post, Qualcomm could be planning something a little strange for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Much like we saw with the S25 series and its special Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chips, Samsung could again be getting a special edition of Qualcomm's next chip with a few exclusive upgrades. But this time around, Qualcomm could actually tap Samsung to fabricate the chip itself.
The reason why that move would be particularly interesting is because Samsung has its own promising 2nm process, and industry sources expect that this version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (referred to internally as 'Kaanapali S') could be manufactured using it. And if those indeed end up in the Galaxy S26 family, it could be Samsung, rather than Google, that first puts these kind of next-gen chips in your hand.
Yields have reported already risen from 30% to 40% for Samsung's 2nm process, and while that's still a bit below where companies target for profitability, if that number keeps moving in the right direction, Samsung could be in good shape in just a few more months. The company's also been looking at 1.4nm chips, but has supposedly delayed those plans in order to further refine its 2nm workflow.
Ultimately, which company is first with a phone running a 2nm chip won't come down to more than bragging rights, and regardless of who wins, everyone else is going to catch up in short order. But that doesn't make us any less excited to think about the tiny atomic-scale places these processors are going.
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