Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: New report refutes Samsung Foundry exclusivity rumour

There has been plenty of confusion around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in recent months. A report claimed Qualcomm would dual-source it from Samsung and TSMC. A subsequent one said it would use Samsung's 3 nm node exclusively. Now, yet another leaker has chimed in on the matter with an entirely new take.

@tech_reve says all Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 versions (regular and for Galaxy, assuming the latter exists) will be manufactured on TSMC's N3E process. A report from Commercial Times further confirms the speculation by stating that TSMC's N3E capacity will be divided between Qualcomm, Apple and MediaTek in 2024. N3E has supposedly passed verification, and mass production is expected to kick off in Q4 2023.

The leaker adds that negotiations between Samsung Foundry and Qualcomm are in progress for the 2025-bound Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (tentative). Whether or not Qualcomm will dual-source it from both chipmakers (N3E plus 3GAP) remains to be seen. Mapple_Gold, the leaker who initially claimed that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 would be exclusive to Samsung, is sceptical about @tech_reve's claims.

While @tech_reve has been relatively spot-on about many unreleased products in the past, Mapple_gold's arguments do hold some water. Although it is unclear how much share of TSMC's capacity Apple has booked, its entire M3 lineup will be based on 3 mn nodes (likely a mix of N3E and N3B), leaving little room for a high-volume company like Qualcomm.

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