Qualcomm's next flagship chip could be produced by two different foundries.
The company is reportedly in serious talks with Samsung about using its 2nm process for the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, according to Gizmochina.
Qualcomm had relied exclusively on TSMC for its top-tier Snapdragon chips since 2022, after yield and heat issues with Samsung.
Now Samsung's 2nm gate-all-around technology has improved enough to reopen the conversation.
Samsung's 2nm yields were stuck under 50% earlier this year but have climbed past 70%.
TSMC's yields on the same node remain better at 80-90%, but the gap has narrowed.
Dual-Foundry Strategy
The reported plan is a dual-foundry setup. The highest-end Extreme versions would likely stay with TSMC, while more standard configurations could shift to Samsung.
TSMC is running out of capacity.
It aims for roughly 60,000 wafers a month of 2nm by the end of 2026, but Apple has already locked up at least half for the A20 Pro and M6.
Nvidia and AMD have also secured 3nm capacity through 2027, making a second supplier more attractive.
The main sticking point is pricing.
Qualcomm wants better pricing, but Samsung is not in a rush to discount, especially for what would start as modest volumes.
Samsung has already raised prices on older nodes by 10-15% in the past. CEO Cristiano Amon's recent meetings in South Korea suggest the talks are serious.
With advanced-node costs climbing and capacity tightening, spreading production across two foundries makes strategic sense.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit runs September 22-24 in Hawaii, where the 8 Elite Gen 6 is expected to debut.
Neither company is commenting publicly.
For now, everything depends on whether they can agree on price and performance guarantees.
