Samsung may produce Snapdragon chips for Galaxy S26 again

Qualcomm seems to be returning to cooperation with Samsung Foundry after a three-year break. According to SEDaily, one of the variants of the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 processor for the flagship Galaxy S26 smartphones will be manufactured on a 2-nm process at Samsung's factories.

Here's What We Know

Samsung plans to complete production testing in the second quarter of this year, and mass production will start in the first quarter of 2026. This chip is expected to be labelled "Made For Galaxy" and will be installed in the Galaxy S26, as well as other top models of the company.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 will be manufactured in two versions - one by Samsung and the other by TSMC using an improved 3nm process technology. Production will take place at Samsung's advanced fab in Hwaseong. So far, Qualcomm's order is about 1,000 wafers per month, which is only a fraction of the fab's capacity - it can produce up to 7,000 wafers.

After the failure of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm preferred TSMC. Now, Samsung's return to flagship chip production could be a serious image step. If the Korean giant shows a high level of quality, it will open the door to new orders - not only from Qualcomm but also from other brands.

It is also reported that Samsung Foundry will produce the XR2+ Gen 2 chip for the company's upcoming XR headset, which will be released by the end of 2025.

As a reminder, the Galaxy S25 FE will receive One UI 8, but will again be powered by the Exynos 2400e.

Source: SamMobile