PlayStation handheld: New rumour predicts 2028 launch and 2 nm chip from Samsung

Rumours about a PlayStation handheld (not the Portal 2) have been brewing over the past year. Kepler_L2, a well-known leaker, revealed it would be powered by a 15 Watt chip manufactured on an unspecified 3 nm node. Now, semiconductor analyst Jukanlosreve, citing his sources, says it isn't the case.

The handheld is called 'Jupiter' internally, and its SoC will be manufactured on Samsung's cutting-edge 2 nm (SF2P) node. However, it won't enter mass production until 2028, which is a tad late because the handheld is tipped to arrive alongside the PlayStation 6. Sony's seven-year cadence implies the console should launch in 2027.

As far as the chip's actual specs go, it is hard to zero-in on anything because speculations are running wild. One rumour said it could come with 3D V-cache, and another one claimed its CU count would sit between 20 and 40. Nobody has predicted what CPU cores it will employ, but Zen 5 seems like a likely candidate.

An earlier roadmap stated SF2P would be fully functional in 2026. That gives Samsung ample time to iron out yield issues before attempting to manufacture the PlayStation handheld chip. The three parties (Sony, AMD, Samsung Foundry) haven't reached an agreement yet, so nothing is set in stone.

However, AMD and TSMC have developed a profound relationship over the years. AMD has little reason to pick Samsung Foundry over its long-time partner unless the Korean company gave it an excellent deal. After all, even Nintendo used its 8N node for the Switch 2's Tegra T239.

Or there's the possibility that AMD/Sony have tested SF2P and found it to be better than any N3 class (N3B/N3E/N3P/N3X) node TSMC has to offer. TSMC's N2 family might have been their first choice, but prohibitively high wafer prices may have forced them to look at other alternatives.