Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 Variant in Development on Samsung’s 2nm Node

Key Takeaways

1. Two engineering samples of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 with different memory speeds have been spotted, suggesting possible variants.
2. Qualcomm may produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using Samsung’s SF2 process, potentially making it the first 2 nm smartphone SoC.
3. There are concerns about the production yield of the SF2 process, which could delay the release of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 variant.
4. The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Galaxy may not be ready in time for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, leading to the possibility of using a standard version instead.
5. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8 are the likely candidates for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 made by Samsung Foundry.

Some time ago, two engineering samples of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 were seen online, each showcasing different memory speeds. This could just be Qualcomm experimenting with various LPDDR5X modules, but there’s talk about the existence of two variants of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station has come back to support this idea.

Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 Manufacturing Details

This new information ties in with an earlier report suggesting that Qualcomm plans to produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Galaxy using Samsung Foundry’s SF2 process node. If this is correct, it would mark the debut of the first 2 nm smartphone SoC in the market, provided it launches alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 variant built on TSMC’s N3P technology. However, it is quite difficult to say when this alternate Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 variant will be available since SF2’s yields have not been very good for large-scale production.

Possible Release Concerns

Digital Chat Station also mentioned that it won’t be “held until next year” (according to machine translation). This suggests that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Galaxy may not be ready in time to power the Galaxy S26 Ultra. If the Exynos 2600, which is also produced on SF2, doesn’t come to fruition, there is a strong possibility that a standard Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 will be used for the entire Galaxy S26 series. This leaves only the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8 as possible candidates for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 made by Samsung Foundry.

Source:
Link