Samsung begins mass production of second generation 10 nm chips

Less than a year ago, Samsung began to mass produce the Exynos 8895 Octa SoC, its first 10 nm chip for mobile devices. This chip is currently used for the Samsung Galaxy S8 flagships that end up in the EMEA region, while the rest of the world gets the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-equipped variants. Now, an official announcement reveals that a new generation of 10 nm processors has entered the mass production stage, just in time to end up as the heart of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 family.

The new chips that are now being produced by Samsung's foundries use the second generation 10 nm FinFET process technology known as 10LPP (Low Power Plus). According to the multinational giant headquartered in South Korea, 10LPP chips are 10 percent faster and use 15 percent less energy than the previous generation. Those eager to find out where is Samsung's chip-making business headed must know that the company is already working on perfecting the 8LPP technology, although an accurate launch date is not public yet.

"SoCs designed with 10LPP process technology will be used in digital devices scheduled to launch early next year and are expected to become more widely available throughout the year," writes Samsung in the press release. Sadly, there is no processor or device name mentioned in this story.

Many recent rumors claim that the Samsung Galaxy S9 for the EMEA region will use the Exynos 9810 processor, so it is pretty safe to conclude that this chip is now being manufactured in large quantities. However, this assumption should be taken with a grain of salt for the time being, since Samsung still has to confirm it.