Qualcomm says it is doing in-depth work on Samsung Foundry's 2nm process. Both new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips come from TSMC.
Qualcomm is evaluating Samsung Foundry's 2nm process for future Snapdragon chips, senior vice president Chris Patrick told Korean reporters at Snapdragon Summit 2026. The Qualcomm Samsung 2nm relationship has no announced product attached to it today. Patrick confirmed that TSMC manufactures both of Qualcomm's newly announced 2nm flagship chips.
What Happened and Why It Matters
Patrick runs Qualcomm's mobile handset business. He addressed the foundry question twice in Maui, Hawaii, according to iNews24 and Chosun Biz. The first time was a mobile Q&A on September 22, local time. The second was a group interview with Korean media on September 23.
At the Q&A, Patrick said every 2nm product Qualcomm had announced comes from TSMC, per Chosun Biz. He added that Qualcomm tends to work with any company offering strong technology. He also said foundry partnerships matter more now than ever before.
The interview went further. Patrick told iNews24 that Qualcomm is doing "in-depth work" on Samsung Foundry's 2nm technology. He said Qualcomm has no specific product or plan to announce. The company is evaluating how the node could fit its future designs.
Patrick also called Samsung the strongest partner in Qualcomm's mobile business worldwide, per iNews24. SamMobile reported the remarks in English on September 28. Why should a Galaxy owner care who builds a chip? The factory behind a processor shapes its efficiency, heat and supply.
How Samsung Missed the Snapdragon Gen 6 Order
Samsung Foundry negotiated until the final stretch and did not win this generation, Newspim reported on September 28. The outlet named price as the main sticking point. TrendForce and other outlets reported that Qualcomm pushed for lower pricing and Samsung resisted cuts.
That marks a change from the last breakup. Samsung built the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on its 4nm process in 2021. Digitimes reported that yield and thermal problems pushed Qualcomm to TSMC from the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 onward.
Yield estimates for Samsung's 2nm process vary widely. SemiMedia cited Korean industry figures of 50% to 60%. Newspim said some estimates reach about 70%, and Samsung has published no official figure.
Bangkok Post, citing ChosunBiz, reported that Qualcomm targeted a combined yield of at least 70%. Samsung also holds more pricing power than before. Newspim, citing Reuters, said Samsung raised prices on some new 4nm, 5nm and 8nm orders by up to 15%.
Background: From CES Talks to Snapdragon Summit
The door opened in January. At CES 2026, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Qualcomm had started 2nm contract manufacturing talks with Samsung, per Hankyung. Amon added that design work was complete, with commercialization targeted soon.
Samsung told Digitimes it does not comment on specific customers. Korean reporters asked Patrick whether Amon's CES comments applied to the Gen 6 chips. He said he had nothing to disclose about the current products, according to Econovill.
Samsung's own roadmap gives Qualcomm something concrete to test. The Exynos 2600 was the first high-volume chip on Samsung's first-generation SF2 process. Samsung's Q4 2025 earnings release said SF2P, its second-generation 2nm node, would ramp in 2026, SamMobile reported.
Samsung Foundry executive Shin Jong-shin detailed SF2P at SAFE Forum 2026 in July. He said it delivers up to 15% higher clock speeds and 26% better power efficiency than SF2, per SamMobile. SamsVerge's look at Samsung's 1nm and High-NA EUV plans shows where these nodes sit in the longer roadmap.
Key Details From Snapdragon Summit 2026
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 on September 22. Qualcomm's product brief lists a 2nm process and part number SM8950 for the standard chip. SamMobile reported that both chips use TSMC's N2P node.
Both chips pair two prime cores with six performance cores, and the prime cores reach 5GHz, TrendForce reported. The Extreme model's Adreno GPU delivers 44% more performance than its predecessor, per the same report. Sammy Fans reported that Patrick confirmed the two chips use separate dies.
Samsung scored its own win at the summit on the memory side. Samsung said on September 23 that it verified 16GB of LPDDR6 on the Extreme Gen 6 at up to 10.7Gbps, per Money Today. Samsung called the result an industry first.
Newsis reported Samsung's figures of up to 114GB/s of bandwidth for its LPDDR6. Samsung also claims up to 21% better power efficiency than LPDDR5X. Patrick told iNews24 that LPDDR6 brought new signaling methods and harder memory channel management, and both engineering teams worked through those problems together.
What's Confirmed and What's Still Unclear
Confirmed: TSMC builds both Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips, Patrick said at the September 22 Q&A.
Still Unclear: Qualcomm has not said whether a later variant could come from another foundry.
What It Means: No announced flagship Snapdragon from this generation carries Samsung-made silicon.
Confirmed: Qualcomm is doing in-depth evaluation work on Samsung's 2nm technology, per Patrick's iNews24 interview.
Still Unclear: Qualcomm named no product, node version or timeline.
What It Means: SamMobile expects a future flagship Snapdragon on Samsung's second-generation 2nm process. That expectation is an inference, and Qualcomm has not confirmed it.
Confirmed: Samsung did not win the Gen 6 manufacturing order, according to Patrick's statement and Newspim.
Still Unclear: Neither company has publicly explained why. Newspim and TrendForce cite pricing, based on industry sources.
What It Means: Samsung's next bid depends on price as much as on yield.
Confirmed: Samsung verified 16GB LPDDR6 on the Extreme Gen 6, according to Samsung's September 23 statement.
Still Unclear: No phone maker has confirmed an LPDDR6 device. Patrick said launch timing belongs to Qualcomm's customers.
What It Means: The partnership already extends beyond manufacturing into memory.
What This Means for Your Next Galaxy
Samsung has not announced the Galaxy S27 or its chipsets. SamMobile and Sammy Fans report that the S27 Pro and S27 Ultra could use the Extreme Gen 6 globally. The same outlets place the Exynos 2700 in the S27 and S27+ across most markets.
Any Galaxy S27 using an announced Gen 6 Snapdragon would carry TSMC-made silicon. That conclusion is our own inference from Patrick's statement. SamsVerge's report on One UI 9.5 test builds for all four Galaxy S27 models tracks where that launch stands.
Samsung's 2nm node could reach your pocket through Exynos first. The Korea Herald reports that the Exynos 2700 uses Samsung's SF2P process. The same process is the one Qualcomm is now evaluating.
Would a dual-sourced Snapdragon worry you? Apple split its A9 chip between Samsung and TSMC in 2015, and buyers ran battery tests on both versions. A Snapdragon split across two foundries could trigger the same scrutiny from Galaxy buyers.
PRO TIP: Wait for Samsung's official spec sheet before buying a Galaxy S27. Samsung lists the chipset for each region on its product pages.
Frequently Asked Questions About Qualcomm and Samsung 2nm Chips
Q: Is Samsung manufacturing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6?
A: No. Chris Patrick said TSMC manufactures both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Extreme Gen 6. Newspim reported that Samsung Foundry did not win this order.
Q: Will a future Snapdragon chip use Samsung's 2nm process?
A: Qualcomm has made no commitment. Patrick said the company is evaluating how Samsung's 2nm technology could apply to future products. He named no chip and no date.
Q: Will the Galaxy S27 use a Samsung-made Snapdragon chip?
A: Samsung has not announced the Galaxy S27. If it uses an announced Gen 6 Snapdragon, TSMC built that chip, based on Qualcomm's own statement.
Q: What is Samsung SF2P?
A: SF2P is Samsung Foundry's second-generation 2nm process. Samsung says it delivers up to 15% higher clock speeds and 26% better power efficiency than first-generation SF2.
Q: What did Samsung and Qualcomm achieve with LPDDR6?
A: Samsung verified 16GB LPDDR6 on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 at up to 10.7Gbps. Samsung describes the result as an industry first.
Qualcomm's next flagship cycle will offer the first real test of any Qualcomm Samsung 2nm product. Until Qualcomm names a chip, treat every claim of a Samsung-made Snapdragon as unconfirmed. Our Exynos and Galaxy S27 coverage will track each new report.
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