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Samsung Beats Qualcomm, Announces Exynos 2600 as World’s First 2nm Smartphone Chipset

Daniel Nenni

Daniel Nenni

Admin
Staff member
Even Qualcomm's much-anticipated Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset won't be 2nm.

By Devesh Beri August 1, 2025

Samsung Now Bar

Credit: Samsung

After swirling around the rumor mill for quite some time, the Exynos 2600 has finally been confirmed to be the first smartphone chipset made with Samsung's 2nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) process. The chipset places Samsung ahead of competitors like Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek, which use TSMC's 3nm manufacturing process for their flagship chips.

The Exynos 2600 is expected to debut with the Galaxy S26 series in early 2026. Samsung says the chip will have a 10-core CPU layout, including one prime core, three big cores, and six performance cores. It will also include the Xclipse 960 GPU, which is said to be 15% more powerful than Qualcomm's Adreno 830 GPU used in the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Even the much-anticipated Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset won't be 2nm. Instead, it's still a 3nm process, but this time it's N3P, a "performance-optimized" and refined version of their earlier 3nm processes. It will launch in September.

In addition to advancing its chip business, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold7 has performed well sales-wise, surpassing its predecessor by 50%.
More details about the Exynos 2600 will emerge closer to the launch of the S26 lineup.

 
Daniel Nenni said:
Talk about competing with your customers, now you know why QCOM is working closely with TSMC. :ROFLMAO: It is also complete nonsense. No way will Samsung2nm be in HVM anytime soon.
Click to expand...
Didn't Apple switch to TSMC because Samsung was competing with iPhone?
 
I wonder how much yield SS will have to eat in order to not bottleneck its own market and how many bug fixes will be necessary.
 
Daniel Nenni said:
Talk about competing with your customers, now you know why QCOM is working closely with TSMC. :ROFLMAO: It is also complete nonsense. No way will Samsung2nm be in HVM anytime soon.
Click to expand...
The phones are already being tested with the Exynos chip inside. The '26 phones will be available in Jan 2026 most likely. Samsung 2nm is going to be like Samsung 14nm, first to market, with good yields.

Did you think Elon committed without any yield data?
 
benb said:
The phones are already being tested with the Exynos chip inside. The '26 phones will be available in Jan 2026 most likely. Samsung 2nm is going to be like Samsung 14nm, first to market, with good yields.

Did you think Elon committed without any yield data?
Click to expand...

Sorry, Intel was the first to market with 14nm and it was a superior process. Good yields is a subjective term I suppose. Intel and Samsung logic yields have never been better than TSMC.

Samsung has falsified yield numbers in the past so it is hard for me to believe when they say they have good yield. Last I heard 2nm was still under 40%. Intel 18A and TSMC N2 are above that already.

The only thing I know is that Elon did not go to South Korea to visit the Samsung 2nm fab. He would have said something about walking the 2nm fab line in South Korea.
 
benb said:
The phones are already being tested with the Exynos chip inside. The '26 phones will be available in Jan 2026 most likely. Samsung 2nm is going to be like Samsung 14nm, first to market, with good yields.
Did you think Elon committed without any yield data?
Click to expand...
If Samsung is able to achieve high-yield production of its 2nm process in time for phone availability by January 2026, I would expect them to promote it crazily, as they traditionally do. However, given the lack of such marketing so far, it suggests that their 2nm process not yet be in a healthy state.
 
This year's ramp of Exynos 2600 is still in the risk stage, as yield is not finalized yet.

biz.newdaily.co.kr

ì¼ì±ì ì, ê°¤ëì S26 'ëë' ìì° ëì ⦠2ëë¸ ìì¨ ì¡ìë

ì¼ì±ì ìê° ì°¨ê¸° ê°¤ëì ì리ì¦ì ë¤ì´ê° ê²ì¼ë¡ ììëë 모ë°ì¼ AP(Application Processor) 'ììë¸ì¤2600'ì ìì í ìì°ì 본격ííë¤. ììë¸ì¤2600ì ì¼ì±ì ì ìì²´ APì¸ ììë¸ì¤ì ë¶íì êµ³íë ìì§ì ì íì¸ ëìì ì¼ì± íì´ë리ì 2ëë¸ ê³µì ê°ë¥ì±ì ë³´ì¬ì¤ë¤ë ì ìì 주목ëë¤.11ì¼ ë°ëì²´ìê³ì ë°ë¥´ë©´ ì¼ì±ì ìë ì§ëë¬ ììë¸ì¤2500...
biz.newdaily.co.kr biz.newdaily.co.kr

Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of the prototype of the mobile AP (Application Processor) 'Exynos 2600', which is expected to enter the next Galaxy series. The Exynos 2600 is noteworthy because it is a symbolic product that solidifies the revival of Samsung Electronics' own AP, Exynos, and at the same time shows the potential of Samsung Foundry's 2nm process.

According to the semiconductor industry on (June) the 11th, Samsung Electronics completed mass production of the Exynos 2500 last month and began mass production of the next Exynos 2600 prototype in earnest. After securing a certain level of yield in the initial trial production conducted earlier this year, the wafer input was increased in earnest and the prototype production stage began.

Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division and Foundry Division are expected to accelerate performance and yield improvements through mass production of prototypes this time. Since securing a yield of around 30% in initial trial production at the beginning of this year, it has been focusing on producing a yield of more than 50% without deteriorating performance since last month, and it is expected that the process of gradually increasing this will continue.

It is reported that Samsung has set a goal internally to start risk production of the Exynos 2600 before the end of the year. Risk mass production is the stage where the design is verified at the mass production stage of the prototype, and after functional testing is completed, the process safety and yield are finally assessed before full-scale mass production. It can be seen as the final stage to determine whether the actual production environment is at a level that is possible for full-scale mass production before formal mass production.

In the risk mass production stage, a large amount of wafers equivalent to the level of low-volume production are put in. The quantity is set at a certain level and mass production is carried out, and thousands to tens of thousands of chips are usually produced at the risk mass production stage.

After risk mass production, full-scale mass production begins. In the case of Exynos 2600, it is expected that the time to switch to a formal mass production system will be early next year after mass production of risk is carried out before the end of the year. Considering that the 'Galaxy S26' series, the next Galaxy product that is promoting the installation of Exynos 2600, will be unveiled around February next year and sales will begin in the first quarter, mass production of AP should begin 2~3 months before this.

However, there are variables in this mass production schedule. If the yield standard is not met at the risk mass production stage or the defect rate is higher than expected, the process of moving to formal mass production may take longer. Last year, the Exynos 2500 promoted the installation of the Galaxy S25 series, but due to the problem of low yield of 3nm, it has experienced a lot of drinking in the official mass production stage, so it seems that it will be difficult to let go of the tension in the Exynos 2600.

The Exynos 2600 is also attracting attention from the industry in that it is an important yardstick for measuring Samsung Foundry's 2nm technology. This is because the Exynos 2600 is expected to be the first work using Samsung Foundry's 2nm process, and the performance and yield of the Exynos 2600 could determine Samsung's initial reputation as 2nm.

The System LSI Division is also desperately in need of the success of the Exynos 2600. In 2011, Samsung's self-developed AP, Exynos, was first introduced, but Samsung smartphones are still highly dependent on Qualcomm APs. There is no disagreement that Exynos is stably installed in Samsung smartphones and succeeds in AP independence is a win-win path for all Samsung MX (Mobile Experience) Division, System LSI Division, and Foundry Division. This is also the reason why Samsung is desperate for the mass production of the Exynos 2600.
 
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