According to a renowned web leaker, Qualcomm has now decided to order some 5nm and 6nm process node chips from none other than. As we know that, the Taiwanese chip makers’ biggest rival, Samsung Electronics, was the sole supplier of Qualcomm and also recently got the opportunity to manufacture the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC.
But, as far as we know, the leak is yet to be confirmed, so no need to jump any guns. For starters, we don’t even know when the deal is going to take effect.
Currently, the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is operating at its full capacity and has most of its 5nm process node production unit pre-booked by the tech giant Apple.
So it’s hard to see Qualcomm securing any of the 5nm process nodes from the TSMC any time soon. If Qualcomm is indeed looking to import the 5nm and 6nm process nodes from TSMC, it will either be for the Snapdragon 888+ or some yet-to-be-announced SKU.
Some sources indicate that, since the world is experiencing a global semi-conductor crisis, Qualcomm might attempt to secure additional supplies for the Snapdragon 888. There have been many reports indicating that Qualcomm has been running short with the supply of its Snapdragon 888, and even the CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, stated that the chipset was short in supply.
However, Qualcomm addressing the issue, has warned some of its customers that chipset deliveries could be delayed by as long as thirty weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how TSMC-made Snapdragon 888 chipsets hold up against their Samsung counterparts. But, the news of Qualcomm cracking a deal with TSMC could bode ill-will for the South Korean tech giant.
