Samsung is trying its best to win over customers from TSMC which remains the world's largest contract chip manufacturer. While the company did receive orders for Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, yield issues and other problems related to its process technology forced Qualcomm shift to TSMC.
Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is manufactured on TSMC's 4nm process node. Samsung lost out on these orders and if a new rumor is to be believed, it may have also lost orders for future Qualcomm flagship chipsets.
TSMC is the clear beneficiary of Samsung's troubles
A Weibo-based Chinese leaker who goes by the moniker Digital Chat Station claims that TSMC will be manufacturing the future flagship chipsets from both Qualcomm. Not only that, it may also manufacture MediaTek's high-end chipsets.
It's further claimed that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the MediaTek Dimensity 9100 will be manufactured by TSMC on its advanced process nodes. The other two chipsets that have reportedly been contracted to TSMC as well include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 and the MediaTek Dimensity 8200.
It goes without saying that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be utilized in flagship Android smartphones due in 2023. We'll get this chipset on the Galaxy S23 series as well, since it was recently confirmed that future Samsung flagships will exclusively use Snapdragon chipsets.
This is a significant setback for Samsung's contract chip manufacturing business. Qualcomm is the leading supplier of flagship chipsets for Android devices. TSMC's lead on the 4nm node continues to outshine Samsung which struggled with similar issues for its own Exynos 2200 processor.
Samsung is now focusing its energies on the 3nm node, with the company shipping its first 3nm chips earlier this year.
