Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 SoC might have TSMC (3nm) and Samsung Foundry (2nm) variants.
- Samsung’s version could appear on Galaxy phones in the latter half of next year, possibly on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and other foldables.
- It’s unclear if the Samsung-made chip will be a special ‘For Galaxy’ variant.
Qualcomm is expected to follow up on the successful Snapdragon 8 Elite flagship SoC with a new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 SoC later in the year. Leaks suggest the SoC could be built by TSMC on its 3nm N3P process, which is a more advanced 3nm process than the 8 Elite’s N3E process. However, it seems that not all Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 SoCs will be built by TSMC, as Samsung Foundry is now said to be in the race for at least one variant of the flagship SoC.
According to a report from South Korea’s SE Daily (via Jukanlosreve on X) citing industry sources, Samsung Foundry is said to be coordinating plans with Qualcomm to produce a 2nm chip by the end of the year, likely under the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 banner/generation of SoCs. However, Samsung Foundry will produce it on a more advanced 2nm process, while TSMC will produce the same on a 3nm process. The report doesn’t mention the reason for this, but it’s likely because Samsung Foundry’s 2nm process will still be behind TSMC’s 3nm process when it comes to fruition.
The report mentions that the completed chip will likely be mounted on Samsung Galaxy smartphones scheduled for release in the second half of next year. If Samsung sticks to its current schedule, we could see the Samsung-produced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which aligns with the report’s observation that the chip order isn’t large in volume.
The report doesn’t explicitly mention that this SoC will be the ‘For Galaxy’ variant. We know that Samsung reserves a better binned variant of Qualcomm’s flagship SoC for its Galaxy flagships. However, this is first used in the flagship Galaxy S series, which launches in the first half of every year. The only two ways this Samsung Foundry-produced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 SoC can be a ‘For Galaxy’ variant is if Samsung decides to skip using the ‘For Galaxy’ variant for the Galaxy S26 series, or if Samsung ends up preponing the release of Galaxy S27 series to the second half of 2026 (which could work out given even Qualcomm is rumored to launch the Snapdragon flagships earlier by a month).
Either way, we’ll have to see how the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 pans out, and what meaningful differences the SoC would carry between its TSMC-variant and Samsung Foundry-variant. Given a choice, I would prefer the TSMC variant, for it is tried and trusted, but I am open to being surprised by whatever Samsung Foundry has been cooking.
