Qualcomm is rumored to completely use TSMC’s 4nm N4P course of for its upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, however it might have to alter sides for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and swap to Samsung’s foundry for 2024 on account of ongoing capability points. Apple is reported to have secured nearly all of the TSMC’s 3nm wafers, leaving simply 15 % out there for Qualcomm to make the most of, which might be unacceptable to the chipset maker.

TSMC’s 3nm can also be stated to supply shipments to MediaTek, leaving virtually nothing for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4

The rumor doing the rounds was posted by @MappleGold on X, stating that Qualcomm will solely stick with a dual-sourcing method that includes each Samsung and TSMC if the latter can enhance its 3nm yields, which is rumored to be an abysmal 55 %. Nevertheless, a separate report claims a yield fee between 70-80 %. Whatever the quantity, Qualcomm will solely see 15 % of these 3nm shipments, with the remaining orders reserved for MediaTek and Apple.

Whereas TSMC could make efforts to enhance 3nm manufacturing, your complete thread that features @MappleGold’s insights states that the producer can not make such changes in only a 12 months and that its 3nm wafer manufacturing will all the time be at most capability, due to Apple. With Qualcomm presumably switching to Samsung for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, it’s unclear which manufacturing course of shall be used, however we consider that the 3nm GAAP (Gate All Round Plus) node shall be utilized to rival TSMC’s personal know-how.

All variants of 8 gen 4 will use SF

— Mapple_gold (@MappleGold) August 13, 2023

Additionally, the samples obtained by Qualcomm from Samsung’s foundry present promise, as instructed by the person’s submit, displaying that it may not be a horrible choice to change companions, a minimum of for one chipset launch. There have been rumors that the San Diego agency would transfer to TSMC’s N3E course of, which is an iteration of its present 3nm course of, however based mostly on the newest rumor, these plans may not materialize both.

Information Supply: @MappleGold