Samsung Foundry once again loses Snapdragon bid to the obvious choice

Samsung foundry again lost Qualcomm bids: this time to produce Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipsets. The upcoming Snapdragon processor will be entirely manufactured by TSMC (British Semiconductor).

Samsung’s foundry hasn’t had the best year — low yields have plagued it for months — but it’s finally turning things around. Its 3nm production has only recently stabilized with acceptable yields, and the foundry is also working on 2nm chipsets. Samsung foundry has bigger — read: smaller wafer — plans as well 2027 1.4 nm chipset.

However, considering how many flagship phones want to boast the latest Snapdragon chipsets, it’s understandable that Qualcomm would choose the safer option. Samsung OEMs may offer killer discounts – e.g. MediaTek supplies processors to Samsung – But TSMC is the more reliable option.

Of course, every time the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 leaves the drawing board, the Samsung foundry will try again. If the Samsung foundry can prove itself by successfully fulfilling orders from other customers, it may have a chance to produce part of the third generation.