Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Rumored to Use TSMC and Samsung Technologies – Samsung’s Yields Under Scrutiny

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is reported to be exclusively produced using TSMC’s 3nm process, with Samsung missing out due to its inability to increase chip yields. Going through only a single foundry can be very expensive, and if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is priced at around $240 per unit, then Qualcomm may want to have another partner on board for additional pricing stability. The latest gossip, however, suggests that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is likely to adopt TSMC’s N3P and Samsung’s SF2 process technologies from next year — but there are a few caveats.

Leaks About the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

Qualcomm is said to be looking at splitting orders between TSMC and Samsung for the production of its Snapdragon chipsets. The attempt with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 didn’t succeed, so the company is working to ensure the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 avoids similar issues. According to a rumor shared by @negativeonehero on DC Inside, the new Snapdragon chip, designated ‘8850,’ will be produced by both TSMC and Samsung.

The more advanced variant will use TSMC’s N3P process, while the less powerful version might be manufactured using Samsung’s SF2, which is their 2nm GAA technology. Samsung needs to achieve better chip yields for this strategy to work, a goal it has been suboptimally trying and largely failing to meet for years. This issue has caused many companies to favor TSMC over Samsung.

A volume order for SF2 chips from the South Korean chipmaker would also help surface QTM-672, an RF filter-multiplexer chip reserved for Qualcomm’s in-house Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 fabbed on Samsung grounds. The 2nm GAA process has an advantage in terms of power efficiency and density, but Samsung may not win any orders for the new Snapdragon chip if it fails to fix its yield problems. With Samsung already struggling with its 3nm GAA node causing issues for Exynos 2500 production, they have a lot of room to improve in order to satisfy Qualcomm.

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