The mobile technology world trembles with new, and this time around it’s because of the announcement of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen GEN1, Qualcomm’s newly revealed premier system-on-a-chip (SoC). 1 Although the consensus is that this powerhouse of a SoC will be manufactured in volume by TSMC on their industry-leading 3nm ‘N3P’ process, an interesting rumor has sprung up claiming there could be a twist: Qualcomm might actually not. However, there is also a second version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 still in the works and this model apparently to tap on Samsung’s more advanced 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process with trial production already kicked off.
This is an important move for Samsung’s foundry arm that it is working to rake in tens of millions of orders from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The company has had recent manufacturing successes; the Exynos 2600 chip supposedly reached mass production with yield improvements, reaching around 50 per cent and up from previous figures of roughly 30 percent. 2 This developments should give Samsung the confidence to go on to become a key manufacturing partner for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and it compliments their status among Intel’s main competitors.
The Importance of Trial Production for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Despite previous rumors that had claimed Qualcomm could have kicked Samsung to the curb as a foundry partner in July, even the newest word on the street including words from sources such as @Jukanloshave referred to no thanks but no thanks when it comes to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 orders on Samsung’s 2nm process. Instead the SoC on this lithography is just in important risk production stage.
A flagship part such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 can ultimately only enter full-scale mass production when the yield rates are high enough. A 50% yield may be acceptable initially to Samsung to put their own, in-house Exynos chips into production, but this could prove economically unsavoury for Qualcomm. A 50 percent yield would translate to five of every ten Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipsets being flawed, not a sustainable failure rate for high volumes of flagship chips. Samsung will likely have to prove to Qualcomm that its yields can reliably hit 70 percent or higher for the trial production of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 hardware to move to actual mass production.
The Single Smartphone Strategy
It’s also rumoured the Samsung-made 8 Elite Gen 5 Snapdragon will be used in a very limited way: only one device based on this 2nm GAA model will launch, according to leaks, with that product tipped to be the Galaxy Z Flip 8. This restricted debut rollout of the TSMC-built Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 suggests that it will be an exclusive for high-volume devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and indeed the whole of the Galaxy S26 range.
That may be limited to just a single foldable model of smartphone, but it’s still huge. It’s a prime opportunity for the Korean giant to prove that its own semiconductor expertise and 2nm GAA process technology are just as effective and trustworthy as those of its rival competitor, TSMC. For Samsung, landing a piece of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 production pie is a strategic victory.
I have been following closely foundry developments and flagship SoC design of past five years as an author in this domain, means I’d directly experienced a whole lot of line shifts or node transitions. This website and its staff has a deep understanding around tracking the competitive landscape between major foundries as well as what yield rates mean for an SoC like Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Our experience predisposes us to scrutinize the feasibility of such trial production rumors.
Naturally, we should remind readers that all details about the trial production of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 should be taken with a grain of salt, until it is confirmed by official source as anything but a rumor. We will be tracking the story of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and updating as we learn more.
