Snapdragon chips for Galaxy S26 could to be made by Samsung

While the Galaxy S26 won't go official until early next year, its chipset is expected to be announced in September. Samsung is expected to exclusively use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset in its flagship phones next year. The 2nm chip used in those phones could be made by Samsung.

If this information is correct, it could give a huge boost to Samsung's chipmaking division.

Apparently, Qualcomm will launch two variants of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 processor. According to a report from SEDaily, one variant of the flagship chip will be fabricated on a 2nm process from Samsung Foundry. The other version will be made by TSMC on its improved 3nm process.

Apparently, Samsung is co-ordinating details with Qualcomm and plans to complete the production testing phase in the second quarter of this year and start the mass production in the first quarter of 2026. This chip is expected to be a ‘Made For Galaxy' chip and will be used in the Galaxy S26 series and other high-end phones from Samsung that will be launched in 2026.

Samsung is expected to produce the 2nm version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chip at its cutting-edge Hwaseong S3 factory. Around 1,000 sheets of 12-inch wafers are expected to be produced. Currently, the 2nm production capacity of the factory is around 7,000 sheets per month, so the order from Qualcomm is not large in the grand scheme of things, and Samsung can make more chips. However, how many of those chips (yield) will pass the certification process remains to be seen.

If the information regarding Samsung's entry into Qualcomm's supply chain is true, it would be a huge win for the South Korean firm even if it doesn't bring much revenue.

Ever since the Samsung-made Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 faced heating and throttling issues, Qualcomm completely switched to TSMC for getting its flagship chips fabricated. Samsung was rumored to make some Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, but that didn't happen. If Samsung truly ends up making even some Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chips, it will earn the company customer trust. With that, it could get more 2nm orders from other brands.

Samsung Foundry is reportedly also tasked to make 4nm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip that is being used Samsung's first extended reality (XR) headset, which is expected to launch before the end of this year. Going forward, Samsung plans to increase its collaboration with Qualcomm.