Samsung Foundry Reportedly Trials Second-Gen 3 Nanometer Process

[T0@st]

According to a report published by THE CHOSUN Daily, Samsung and TSMC are vying for supremacy with the upcoming mass production of second-generation 3 nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) process. The gigantic South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate is alleged to be courting potential clients—insider information points to a trial run of second-generation 3 nm process prototypes: "(the foundry is) currently testing the chip's performance and reliability, Samsung aims to achieve a yield of over 60 percent for the 3 nm second-generation process within the next six months, as set by the company's internal goals." The likes of NVIDIA, Qualcomm and AMD are mentioned in the article—it will take a lot of effort to attract these high-profile customers away from TSMC.

Samsung is reportedly securing its initial batches for internal usage—internal sources have the second-generation 3 nm process linked to an incoming Application Processor (AP). This wearable-oriented unit is expected is to drive seventh generation Galaxy Watches. This production node could be approved by the company's LSI division—depending on how well 2nd-gen SF3 fares in Galaxy Watch 7 models—as the technological basis for their Exynos 2500 mobile SoC. This upcoming ARM-based processor is believed to debut in 2025's Galaxy S25 smartphone family. The report has Qualcomm placed as a key target client, but it will be difficult to wrestle this fabless manufacturer away from TSMC's dominance. Certain models in Samsung's Galaxy S24 series are set to sport Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips built on TSMC's N4P 4 nm process.



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[Denver]

I didn't even notice that the first generation existed, but I hope they keep up with TSMC and be competitive in some scenario, at least.

 

[bonehead123]

For us lowly end users:

More competition = good

Market domination = BAD

I love it when 2 (or more) mega-corps go head to head into battle....hopefully they can both survive long enough to bring us some stronger, faster, and dare I say it, more affordable SOC's for everything.....

 

[tabascosauz]

@T0@st S24 is split between SD 8 Gen 3 on N4P, and Exy 2400 on 4LPP. And it's already not looking great with 2400 having clock deficits right out of the box.

Also hard to forget that the reason for Snapdragon on TSMC is because Samsung did such a garbage fire job in the first place with 888(+) and 8 Gen 1. But the gimped 7s Gen 2 came back to Samsung 4nm, so clearly it's just a question of having a good enough node for the product - which anything Samsung has clearly not been, for a flagship product.

For us lowly end users:

More competition = good

Market domination = BAD

I love it when 2 (or more) mega-corps go head to head into battle....hopefully they can both survive long enough to bring us some stronger, faster, and dare I say it, more affordable SOC's for everything.....

After what their 4nm and 5nm families have been doing to Snapdragon/Exynos/Tensor efficiency and performance, ball is definitely in Samsung's court to prove to the world that their 3nm GAA is actually worth everyone's time. Good "competition" is not what comes to mind when thinking of ways to label post-2020 Samsung Foundries.

Sure, we all get the sentiment about more competition, but MediaTek has been taking most of the market by storm just fine, by being an all-TSMC customer for Helios and Dimensity. That alone has saturated the market with vastly more consumer choice and competition than Samsung could ever dream of doing.

 

[Post Nut Clairvoyance]

@T0@st S24 is split between SD 8 Gen 3 on N4P, and Exy 2400 on 4LPP. And it's already not looking great with 2400 having clock deficits right out of the box.

Also hard to forget that the reason for Snapdragon on TSMC is because Samsung did such a garbage fire job in the first place with 888(+) and 8 Gen 1. But the gimped 7s Gen 2 came back to Samsung 4nm, so clearly it's just a question of having a good enough node for the product - which anything Samsung has clearly not been, for a flagship product.



After what their 4nm and 5nm families have been doing to Snapdragon/Exynos/Tensor efficiency and performance, ball is definitely in Samsung's court to prove to the world that their 3nm GAA is actually worth everyone's time. Good "competition" is not what comes to mind when thinking of ways to label post-2020 Samsung Foundries.

Sure, we all get the sentiment about more competition, but MediaTek has been taking most of the market by storm just fine, by being an all-TSMC customer for Helios and Dimensity.

Pretty sure Helios is "whatever foundary is cheap enough", while Dimensity is the all-TSMC premium lineup.
MTK is doing well for sure, I'm currently using a Dimensity phone.
Would not have considered them pre-Dimensity but I just like it when they release a lineup that has no bad options, gives the brand/lineup name some value.

Agreed on Samsung needs to provide results, otherwise Intel will literally get to volume production first with slightly superior nodes (LOL)

 

[tabascosauz]

Pretty sure Helios is "whatever foundary is cheap enough", while Dimensity is the all-TSMC premium lineup.

That was my perception as well, but it seems to be an all-TSMC affair. Just with ultra budget old TSMC nodes that are rarely seen in consumer computing anymore.

Dimensity itself has segmented itself out rather deep into the midrange as well, and MediaTek also uses older nodes for those.

 

[Minus Infinity]

I thought I read AMD were looking at securing Samsung 33nm node in light of TSMC being tapped out by Apple, Intel and Nvidia. I'll bet (hope) Samsung's 2nd gen 3nm is a lot better than TSMC's 1st gen effort N3B which is basically a waste of effort.

 

[alawadhi3000]

@T0@st S24 is split between SD 8 Gen 3 on N4P, and Exy 2400 on 4LPP. And it's already not looking great with 2400 having clock deficits right out of the box.

Exynos 2400 is on 4LPP+.

 

[Denver]

Exynos 2400 is on 4LPP+.

Yeah, These tests that are circulating before launch show a very competitive product in terms of performance, efficiency and stability when compared to SD 8G3 in the galaxy 24 ultra (better heat dissipation capacity). It's a world away from the Exynos 2200.