TSMC‘s latest N3E process is expected to get orders from new customers in 2024. Qualcomm is one of the new clients, which will likely have the chipmaker manufacture its next-gen flagship Snapdragon processors. The company was also expected to employ Samsung for its Snapdragon Gen 4 SoCs, but this might not be the case anymore.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be made by TSMC
In a previous report, we covered rumors of Qualcomm moving to the world’s largest contract chipmaker (TSMC) for its upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC could be made by both TSMC and Samsung. However, a new report hints that the company won’t be using Samsung’s Foundry next year. The initial rumors even hinted at an exclusive shift to Samsung for Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 since TSMC could only offer 15 percent of its new 3nm process to Qualcomm.
The Taiwanese company’s major client, Apple, is believed to have secured most of the 3nm process for this year, but this might change in 2024. According to a new report, Qualcomm and MediaTek will share the N3E production line for their next-gen mobile processors. Furthermore, the former is believed to be the first to utilize the custom Oryon cores, thanks to its recent acquisition of Nuvia.
Qualcomm probably decided to stick with Samsung considering TSMC’s N3B wafers had lower yields, which would lead to higher costs for the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips. These price hikes would impact the margins of smartphone makers and other partners, who would also have to raise prices to maintain profits.
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