For the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, Qualcomm could rely on Samsung Foundry as well as TSMC

After a two-year breakup, Qualcomm could be getting back again with Samsung, as the Korean giant’s chip foundry will probably be manufacturing an upcoming flagship chipset for Qualcomm: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.

A bit of clarification: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the current chip champ from Qualcomm. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to land later this year, and the 8 Gen 5 is scheduled for 2025.

On June 4, during a media briefing at the W Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, Cristiano Amon (CEO of Qualcomm), said that the company is seriously considering collaborating with Samsung Electronics on foundry services for semiconductor manufacturing.

Amon addressed a question from a foreign journalist about the risks of relying solely on Taiwan’s TSMC for smartphone chip production. According to a report by the reputable BusinessKorea, he responded that he is contemplating a dual-sourcing production strategy with both TSMC and Samsung Electronics.

“The current focus must be on the foundry production at TSMC, but it will likely require significant effort to have one company handle both aspects”, Amon stated. He welcomed collaboration with both TSMC and Samsung Electronics, indicating continued support for this approach.

This isn’t the first time in recent months that Qualcomm has reportedly been eyeing the Samsung Foundry for future projects.

Back in February 2024, reports had it that Qualcomm asked Samsung Foundry to produce a prototype 2nm chipset for the next-generation Snapdragon 8 SoC.

Samsung Foundry was producing the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 AP when Qualcomm became dissatisfied with the low 35% yield that Samsung reportedly was achieving. This meant that out of every 100 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips produced, only 35 passed quality control and could be used.

In response, Qualcomm made a minor redesign to the chip, renamed it Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and moved production to TSMC, using its 4nm node. Since then, TSMC has been manufacturing the Snapdragon 8 series.