Samsung has been facing production problems with 2nm chips, losing out to TSMC

In 2022, Samsung Foundry experienced poor performance in the production of Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processors, which led Qualcomm to switch to TSMC's production. The Taiwanese company was able to offer higher performance at 70 per cent, while Samsung's was only 35 per cent. Next year, both companies plan to start mass production of chips on the new 2nm process, but Samsung is again facing problems.

Here's What We Know

According to sources, Samsung's yield on finished products at the 2nm level is only 10-20%, which is not enough for mass production. Even including the 3nm production that the company is working on, Samsung Foundry still has a yield below 50%, according to the source. TSMC, on the other hand, has yields in the 60-70% range. This has given TSMC a 62.3 per cent share of the global market, while Samsung has only 11.5 per cent.

As a result, Samsung may be forced to pay a high price for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chips that will be used in the flagship Galaxy S25 series. If Samsung fails to improve performance, the company may consider MediaTek's offer to use their Dimensity chips for future flagship models.

Source: Business Korea