Qualcomm and MediaTek are gearing up to integrate TSMC’s 3nm fabrication process on their coming chips. This move will mean that the smartphone chipmakers will gradually pull away from Samsung as more 3nm chips roll out. The two chip manufacturers mentioned here might not be the only ones to make this move, but they are the most significant in the smartphone industry.
Already both players have 3nm processors that are either rolling out for usage or are currently in usage on various smartphones. For these processors (in circulation), the chipmakers relied on both TSMC and their major competition, Samsung. To ensure better accessibility to chips at all times, these smartphone chipmakers sourced their chips from TSMC and Samsung.
But this will see some adjustment with the switch to the next generation 3nm process (N3E). For existing chips, both Qualcomm and MediaTek will still source from Samsung and not only TSMC. However, as they step into the development phase of their coming chips, these companies will turn their attention to TSMC.
The major reason for this move might be the efficiency of the 3nm N3E chips from TSMC. Samsung, on its part, has already rolled out its next-gen 3nm process for clients to use while developing their processors. However, major clients seem to be more keen on sourcing the 3nm N3E fabrication process from the competition.
Both Qualcomm and MediaTek will make use of the TSMC 3nm process on their coming chips. These chips will be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and the MediaTek 9400 both of which will launch next year. More details on this move will become available in the coming months.