[News] Samsung Reportedly Nears 2nm Win with First Qualcomm Phone AP Deal in 3 Years

While Samsung has reportedly been wrestling with 3nm yield issues and the lack of orders from major clients, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. According to Sedaily, the company is now in the final stages of locking in a deal to produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using its next-gen 2nm process.

This could be a big comeback for Samsung, marking its first Qualcomm smartphone AP order in three years, as noted by Sedaily. Furthermore, the rumored deal implies a key customer win just as Samsung’s 2nm production line gears up for launch later this year, the report adds.

Still, it’s not shaping up to be a winner-takes-all for Samsung. The report says TSMC is set to produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using 3nm in 2H25, while Samsung aims to leap ahead with its 2nm process—expected to power Galaxy smartphones hitting the market in 2H26.

Sedaily indicates that Samsung’s design work with the new Qualcomm chip is scheduled to wrap up in Q2 this year, with mass production kicking off in early 2026. However, output are expected to start modestly—around 1,000 12-inch wafers per month, which accounts for 15% of Samsung’s estimated 2nm capacity, the report notes.

Nevertheless, winning the order could mean a lot to Samsung, as it used to manufacture 5nm chips for Qualcomm in 2020 and 4nm in 2022, as per Sedaily.

As highlighted by another SamMobile report, Samsung used to share a longtime partnership with Qualcomm. The report points out that it began mass production of its first-generation 4nm process, SF4E, as early as 2021. SF4E was reportedly used to manufacture the Exynos 2200 and Google’s Tensor G3 chipset. Qualcomm also adopted the node for its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and several of its 5G modems, as per the report.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)