Qualcomm is reportedly planning to split the orders for manufacturing its next flagship smartphone SoC series — allegedly called the Snapdragon 895 and 895+ — between TSMC and Samsung. Qualcomm has just launched its latest top-tier smartphone chip, the Snapdragon 888+, that will start appearing in premium Android phones within the coming months.
The current-gen Qualcomm flagship chips are based on the 5nm process, and so is the case with Apple’s Bionic A14 inside the iPhone 12 series. However, things are not going to change much as Apple is rumored to stick with TSMC’s slightly upgraded 5nm+ (5NMP) process for the Bionic A15 chip that will power the iPhone 13 (or iPhone 12s) series. In contrast, the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek are expected to make the jump to 4nm with the chips used by Samsung, OnePlus, and other smartphone brands.
However, Samsung is in a unique position within the industry, as it not only manufactures its own silicon under the Exynos brand but has also opened the doors of its foundry business to manufacture chips for clients such as Qualcomm. As per tipster Ice Universe, Qualcomm is sourcing the Snapdragon 895 from Samsung, while TSMC will handle the Snapdragon 895+ that's expected to launch in the second half of 2022. Both chips will be based on TSMC’s 4nm fabrication process, the same node that will reportedly be used to make Apple’s next-gen A-series chip destined for the iPhone 14 series.
Samsung has poured billions of dollars into its foundry business over the past couple of years, and it is now capable of shipping both smartphone as well as PC silicon. However, it is quite interesting to see Qualcomm dividing the orders for its Snapdragon 895 series chips between Samsung and TSMC. There are only two plausible reasons for this strategy — either Samsung is undercutting TSMC, or the latter is running short on resources due to prior client (read: Apple) commitments. If one were to go with the former theory, Samsung is either offering more lucrative pricing for its 4nm services compared to TSMC, or it might be selling the promise of higher performance gains and energy efficiency improvements. To recall, Samsung is already working on its own next-gen Exynos chip equipped with an AMD GPU to offer more graphics prowess for handling demanding tasks.
The other reason behind Qualcomm dividing the Snapdragon 895 orders between Samsung and TSMC is possibly due to the latter having its hands full. TSMC has been a long-time Apple customer, and as per industry reports, the Tim Cook-led company is already among the first clients to have secured the 3nm node that will reportedly be used to make the next-gen M-series silicon that's set to debut inside an iPad Pro model next year. Apple has already booked TSMC’s 5nm process for two years in a row, and is expected to make the 4nm upgrade for its next A-series silicon in 2022. With Apple’s reputation of being a priority client with immaculate control over its supply chain, TSMC may have played a safe bet by only committing to making the Snapdragon 895+ SoC for Qualcomm in order to make sure that it can honor its deal with Apple, especially at a time when the industry is still reeling from an acute semiconductor shortage.
Source: Ice Universe/Twitter
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