Samsung missed out on Qualcomm’s order to produce second-generation 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite chips

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processors presented in the current half of the year were ordered to be produced using TSMC’s N3E technology, and Samsung was unable to agree with the customer on the release of a more economical version of the chip with the expected designation “Snapdragon 8s Elite”, which will be released in the first half of 2025. Samsung will also miss participation in the production of the second generation Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Image source: Qualcomm Technologies

According to the South Korean website The Bell, Samsung Electronics has failed for the fourth year in a row in its attempts to become a contract manufacturer of processors for Qualcomm. At the end of 2021, the first generation Snapdragon 8 processors debuted, almost all of them were produced by Samsung up to a certain point, but later Qualcomm made claims about product quality, and subsequent generations of Snapdragon processors firmly established themselves on the TSMC assembly line.

In fact, Qualcomm itself is trying its best to support the principle of having multiple suppliers in order to reduce risks. For this reason, every year it gives Samsung a chance to receive orders for its processors. As Korean sources explain, in the case of the second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processors, which should appear in the second half of 2025, fortune was again not on Samsung’s side. The corresponding orders using the N3P process will be received by Taiwanese TSMC.

Theoretically, Samsung can still qualify to participate in the mass production of 2nm third-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, which should hit the market in the second half of 2026. By that time, the Korean company may start producing 2nm products at its plant under construction in Texas. For Qualcomm, such a geographic link would be convenient, although its products are shipped all over the world. Samsung’s own 3nm Exynos 2500 processors are expected not to be included even in the flagship Galaxy S25 smartphones, but may be included in models with a folding display such as the Galaxy Z Flip 7.