Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 Will Exclusively Be Mass Produced On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ Process, Samsung Has Lost The Production Bid

[fansink]

TSMC has once again taken advantage of its superior lithography compared to Samsung as it will be exclusively mass produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 for next year. We have previously reported that the chipset maker wanted the Korean foundry to enter its supply chain as it would result in a cost reduction. Unfortunately, Samsung has been struggling with its yield problem for quite a while regarding its 3nm GAA process, leaving Qualcomm with little choice but to opt for the ‘tried and tested’ choice, TSMC.

Samsung attempted to cut its losses by obtaining orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite but failed in that endeavor too

With the 2nm trial production run showing immense promise for TSMC as the latter has reportedly achieved a 60 percent yield rate, Qualcomm has likely shown confidence in its foundry partner to once again hand over the entire order tally. According to a report published by The Bell and spotted by tipster @Jukanlosreve, losing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 orders was not the only blow that Samsung suffered. Early next year, Qualcomm is expected to announce the Snapdragon 8s Elite, which will be positioned as the less capable version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its current flagship SoC.

Apparently, Samsung has failed to garner any orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite too, indicating that the company’s cutting-edge semiconductor division is in complete shambles. As for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, we should witness the silicon mass produced on TSMC’s improved 3nm ‘N3P’ node, bringing in some improvements over the N3E variant. Earlier, we reported that Qualcomm started testing the chipset earlier than previously anticipated, as it hopes to obtain an edge against Apple’s A19 and A19 Pro arriving for the iPhone 17 family.

With the Dimensity 9500 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 getting support for ARM’s SME or Scalable Matrix Extension, we could see up to a 20 percent multi-core improvement. Perhaps the only draw of exclusively placing orders with TSMC is that Qualcomm could be forced to raise prices again next year, harming the profit margins for a bevy of smartphone partners. To be fair, it is not Qualcomm’s fault alone, as it needs to remain competitive in the silicon race by producing cutting-edge SoCs.

With Samsung failing to build confidence in such companies, the dual-sourcing approach has gone out the window, severing Qualcomm’s ability to ask for better wafer pricing from TSMC. The only way for the San Diego firm to lower the silicon bill is for MediaTek to provide exceptional pricing for the Dimensity 9500.

News Source: The Bell

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 Will Exclusively Be Mass Produced On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ Process, With A Rumor Claiming That Samsung Has Lost The Production Bid

Once again, Samsung has failed to secure orders from Qualcomm for next year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, TSMC exclusively mass producing it

wccftech.com

 

[hist78]

TSMC has once again taken advantage of its superior lithography compared to Samsung as it will be exclusively mass produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 for next year. We have previously reported that the chipset maker wanted the Korean foundry to enter its supply chain as it would result in a cost reduction. Unfortunately, Samsung has been struggling with its yield problem for quite a while regarding its 3nm GAA process, leaving Qualcomm with little choice but to opt for the ‘tried and tested’ choice, TSMC.

Samsung attempted to cut its losses by obtaining orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite but failed in that endeavor too

With the 2nm trial production run showing immense promise for TSMC as the latter has reportedly achieved a 60 percent yield rate, Qualcomm has likely shown confidence in its foundry partner to once again hand over the entire order tally. According to a report published by The Bell and spotted by tipster @Jukanlosreve, losing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 orders was not the only blow that Samsung suffered. Early next year, Qualcomm is expected to announce the Snapdragon 8s Elite, which will be positioned as the less capable version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its current flagship SoC.

Apparently, Samsung has failed to garner any orders for the Snapdragon 8s Elite too, indicating that the company’s cutting-edge semiconductor division is in complete shambles. As for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, we should witness the silicon mass produced on TSMC’s improved 3nm ‘N3P’ node, bringing in some improvements over the N3E variant. Earlier, we reported that Qualcomm started testing the chipset earlier than previously anticipated, as it hopes to obtain an edge against Apple’s A19 and A19 Pro arriving for the iPhone 17 family.

With the Dimensity 9500 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 getting support for ARM’s SME or Scalable Matrix Extension, we could see up to a 20 percent multi-core improvement. Perhaps the only draw of exclusively placing orders with TSMC is that Qualcomm could be forced to raise prices again next year, harming the profit margins for a bevy of smartphone partners. To be fair, it is not Qualcomm’s fault alone, as it needs to remain competitive in the silicon race by producing cutting-edge SoCs.

With Samsung failing to build confidence in such companies, the dual-sourcing approach has gone out the window, severing Qualcomm’s ability to ask for better wafer pricing from TSMC. The only way for the San Diego firm to lower the silicon bill is for MediaTek to provide exceptional pricing for the Dimensity 9500.

News Source: The Bell

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 Will Exclusively Be Mass Produced On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ Process, With A Rumor Claiming That Samsung Has Lost The Production Bid

Once again, Samsung has failed to secure orders from Qualcomm for next year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, TSMC exclusively mass producing it

wccftech.com

"The only way for the San Diego firm to lower the silicon bill is for MediaTek to provide exceptional pricing for the Dimensity 9500."

What does it mean?

 

[Daniel Nenni]

This happened a while ago. QCOM is now part of TSMC's inner circle and gets early access which is hard to walk away from. I do not see them going back to Samsung or Intel Foundry for HVM. Maybe on some lower volume chips.

I bought a new laptop for Christmas and saw the Snapdragon systems. Passed them by without a second look. Bought an all Intel (CPU/GPU) HP Envy laptop because I always support the underdog plus it was on sale for less than the AMD laptop. Winning!

 

[smayer1954]

Intel is poised to blow past TSMC’s lithography advantage with the lion’s share of the latest high NA EUV systems being shipped by ASML. Litho has always been the driver to shrink gate length

 

[siliconbruh999]

This happened a while ago. QCOM is now part of TSMC's inner circle and gets early access which is hard to walk away from. I do not see them going back to Samsung or Intel Foundry for HVM. Maybe on some lower volume chips.

I bought a new laptop for Christmas and saw the Snapdragon systems. Passed them by without a second look. Bought an all Intel (CPU/GPU) HP Envy laptop because I always support the underdog plus it was on sale for less than the AMD laptop. Winning!

Was it a Intel Chip made by TSMC?

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Was it a Intel Chip made by TSMC?

According to Chat GPT:

The Intel Core Ultra 7 processors are built using a multi-chip module (MCM) design that incorporates different tiles fabricated on various process nodes:

• Compute Tile (CPU cores): Manufactured using Intel's "Intel 4" process, which is a 7nm EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography node.
• Graphics Tile: Produced on TSMC's N5 process, equivalent to a 5nm node.
• SoC Tile: Fabricated using TSMC's N6 process, a 6nm node.
• Foveros Interposer Base Tile: Created with Intel's 22FFL (also known as Intel 16) process, an older 22nm node optimized for low-power applications.

Not sure why they are calling Intel 4 a 7nm process?

 

[Maximus]

According to Chat GPT:

The Intel Core Ultra 7 processors are built using a multi-chip module (MCM) design that incorporates different tiles fabricated on various process nodes:

• Compute Tile (CPU cores): Manufactured using Intel's "Intel 4" process, which is a 7nm EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography node.

Not sure why they are calling Intel 4 a 7nm process?

Because Intel renamed their processes in 2021:
Intel 7= original 10nm superfin
Intel 4= original 7nm
Intel 20A= original 5nm

 

[siliconbruh999]

According to Chat GPT:

The Intel Core Ultra 7 processors are built using a multi-chip module (MCM) design that incorporates different tiles fabricated on various process nodes:

• Compute Tile (CPU cores): Manufactured using Intel's "Intel 4" process, which is a 7nm EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography node.
• Graphics Tile: Produced on TSMC's N5 process, equivalent to a 5nm node.
• SoC Tile: Fabricated using TSMC's N6 process, a 6nm node.
• Foveros Interposer Base Tile: Created with Intel's 22FFL (also known as Intel 16) process, an older 22nm node optimized for low-power applications.

Not sure why they are calling Intel 4 a 7nm process?

I have the same CPU as well

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Because Intel renamed their processes in 2021:
Intel 7= original 10nm superfin
Intel 4= original 7nm
Intel 20A= original 5nm

I remember the rename but thought Intel 7 was equivalent to TSMC 7 thus the new name. ChatGPT has some catching up to do.

Comparison​

• Density: TSMC N7 generally has a higher density than Intel 7, but exact comparisons vary depending on the design and workload.
• Performance: Intel 7 focuses more on performance per watt improvements.
• Naming Difference: Intel’s nomenclature shifted to align more closely with industry conventions, so Intel 7 is often compared to TSMC’s 7nm nodes, but the processes are fundamentally different in their development and application.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Intel is poised to blow past TSMC’s lithography advantage with the lion’s share of the latest high NA EUV systems being shipped by ASML. Litho has always been the driver to shrink gate length

This is the funniest thing I have read today, thank you.

 

[hist78]

This happened a while ago. QCOM is now part of TSMC's inner circle and gets early access which is hard to walk away from. I do not see them going back to Samsung or Intel Foundry for HVM. Maybe on some lower volume chips.

I bought a new laptop for Christmas and saw the Snapdragon systems. Passed them by without a second look. Bought an all Intel (CPU/GPU) HP Envy laptop because I always support the underdog plus it was on sale for less than the AMD laptop. Winning!

I don't know how frequently you replace your desktop or notebook. People around me and I don't do it as often as used to be. At least I do it less frequently than replacing my smartphones. This is a big challenge for Intel and AMD to deal with.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

I don't know how frequently you replace your desktop or notebook. People around me and I don't do it as often as used to be. At least I do it less frequently than replacing my smartphones. This is a big challenge for Intel and AMD to deal with.

Last new Laptop was three years ago. I upgraded this time to get a better camera, mic, battery, and Windows 11 support. Phone is every other year for battery life and other cool stuff for sailing. My wife only changes electronics when she is forced to, every 5 years or so.

 

[Mooredaddy]

Intel is poised to blow past TSMC’s lithography advantage with the lion’s share of the latest high NA EUV systems being shipped by ASML. Litho has always been the driver to shrink gate length

Tell me you don’t know how semiconductors work without telling me you know how semiconductors work

 

[siliconbruh999]

The only thing Intel is blowing up is their financial rn

 

[Maximus]

I remember the rename but thought Intel 7 was equivalent to TSMC 7 thus the new name. ChatGPT has some catching up to do.

I still wouldn't completely rely on ChatGPT for requests that require precise information or knowledge. When I tested it by asking for an advertisement for the department I graduated, it incorrectly included professors who aren't actually part of it.

 

[siliconbruh999]

I tried writing a report using chatGPT.It messed up the info by contradicting itself

 

[Daniel Nenni]

I tried writing a report using chatGPT.It messed up the info by contradicting itself

I use ChatGPT as a search engine. Sometimes it is absolutely false information but it is getting better and the search engines are getting worse. I don't know about other industries but EDA (chip design) is eating up AI at a tremendous pace. It will be very disruptive and could solve some of our employment challenges.