Samsung-made 2nm Snapdragon chip could power the Galaxy Z Flip 8

Despite being the world’s second-largest contract chipmaker, Samsung faces a significant challenge from the global leader TSMC. While Samsung has been striving to close the gap with TSMC, recent years have only seen it widen. However, analysts believe Samsung might finally have a chance to close the gap by potentially producing 2nm chips for Qualcomm in 2026.

A report (via Yonhap News Agency) from Counterpoint Research says that Samsung Foundry will increase its 2nm chip production next year. It will first start shipping the Exynos 2600, which is a 2nm chip, in the second half of this year. This chip will be used in the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26+ in certain regions. The South Korean firm recently won a contract to make 2nm cryptomining Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chips for MicroBT, a Chinese firm.

Then, in the first half of the year 2026, Samsung Foundry will reportedly start shipping the Snapdragon 8s Elite Gen 5. This chip could be a slightly overclocked or slightly better performing version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that was launched a couple of months ago. The report claims that the chip will be first used in the Galaxy Z Flip 8.

In the second half of 2026, Samsung Foundry is expected to start shipping another cryptomining ASIC chip, this time for Canaan, which made the world's first ASIC bitcoin miner back in 2013. In the second half of 2026 or the first half of 2027, Samsung is expected to ship the 2nm AI6 chip to Tesla. This chip will be used to power Full Self-Driving (FSD) in Tesla's electric cars.

With the help of faster research and development, Samsung Foundry's 2nm chip output is expected to rise sharply from 8,000 wafers per month last year to 21,000 wafers per month by the end of next year. It has already reportedly slashed prices of its 2nm chips by 33% to steal customers away from TSMC.

If the company manages to steadily improve the yield of its 2nm process, it could narrow the gap between its market share and that of TSMC in a meaningful way for the first time in years.