A report earlier this month suggested that Qualcomm is looking to work with Samsung Foundry for its next Snapdragon mobile processors.
The speculation was largely tied to the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, with claims that some of Qualcomm’s next flagship chips could use Samsung’s manufacturing facilities.
However, a new report from Smart Chip Insider on Weibo says that Qualcomm will rely exclusively on TSMC for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will be exclusively made by TSMC
For those unfamiliar, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is expected to come in two variants: a standard version and a Pro model. According to the tipster, both versions will be manufactured using TSMC’s N2P process, as is expected all along.
To back up the claim, the tipster points to a basic reality of chip development: designing and manufacturing an advanced mobile processor is not something companies can change on short notice.
The full development cycle—from IP design to a finished system-on-chip—typically takes around two years. As a result, it would be nearly impossible for a chip expected to be commercially available as early as the third quarter of this year to switch manufacturing processes or foundry partners at short notice. The reasoning makes sense if we think through it.
Still, this doesn’t mean Samsung is completely out of Qualcomm’s plans. During CES 2026, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed that discussions between Qualcomm and Samsung are ongoing. While he didn’t point to any specific product, his comments suggest that a collaboration could still happen down the line.
As always with early chip rumors, the full picture will not be clear until Qualcomm makes things official.
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