Snapdragon 8 Gen3 may switch to Samsung’s 3nm GAA process
Qualcomm used TSMC’s 4nm process on the recently released second-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform (Snapdragon 8 Gen2). Since switching its high-end SoC back to TSMC, energy efficiency has improved significantly, but this does not mean that Qualcomm no longer considers Samsung’s foundry services.
Recently, Twitter user @OreXda revealed that the vice president of Samsung recently visited ASML and discussed the development of a 1.4nm process node in 2025, and Qualcomm is likely to hand over the third-generation Snapdragon 8 chip to Samsung. This may be related to TSMC’s delay in mass production of the 3nm process. It seems that some problems have been encountered in production and are being postponed.
It is reported that Samsung has encountered the same setbacks as the 4/5nm process in the production of the 3nm GAA process, and the yield rate is only 20%. However, Samsung recently chose to cooperate with Silicon Frontline Technology in the United States to improve the yield rate of the 3nm GAA process. Perhaps with the help of external forces, Samsung can improve the production of 3nm GAA chips in the future, which will help restore Qualcomm’s confidence in Samsung’s foundry services.
Recently, it has been reported that the foundry price of TSMC’s 3nm chips is very high, reaching $20,000. Coupled with the delay in production, Qualcomm may become unsafe if it only relies on TSMC’s foundry, and it may be safer to use a dual-foundry strategy. Although Samsung advertised its 3nm GAA process mass production at the end of June this year with great fanfare, it has not yet received orders for smartphone SoCs.
