Samsung announced yesterday that it’s begun mass production of chips
using the 2nd generation of its 14nm process, the technology that will
power both the company’s own Exynos 8 Octa processor and that of a major
rival: Qualcomm. The Snapdragon 820 will be manufactured by Samsung,
using the new 14nm LPP process, and is likely to be used by multiple
flagship devices available in the first half of 2016.
The news comes after a challenging 2015 for Qualcomm, who saw its
Snapdragon 810 processor fall short of the company’s reputation for
class-leading performance in the Android space. Samsung, meanwhile,
moved away from Qualcomm chips in earnest for its 2015 high-end lineup
and turned in excellent results from its Exynos processors. Samsung’s
foundry business shouldn’t be confused with the company’s phone business
or the chips it designs itself — it’s very much for hire, and most
prominently has been Apple’s long-term partner in iPhone chip
manufacturing.
At least some models of the Galaxy S7 are rumored to use the Snapdragon 820, however, and last year Recode reported
that Qualcomm's decision to use Samsung's foundries was in part
motivated by the hope that the Korean company might bring its custom
back. But the 14nm process does also give Samsung a technical edge over
traditional Qualcomm partner TSMC, at least in theory — it should allow
for cheaper chips that consume less power. Whatever the reasons for
Qualcomm's deal, the question of the eventual Galaxy S7's components
just got a little more intriguing for industry watchers.
By: By Sam Byford (The Verge).
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam