The first devices equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip are arriving on the market and we are already thinking about the future Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and in particular about who will be the producers of this future chip. Qualcomm's technological development, especially in the high-end of products, means that there is a real monopoly in favor of the US company.
Qualcomm certainly deserves credit for its creations but, being a a fableless company, must rely on specialized producers equipped with semiconductor foundries. In recent years, in fact, Qualcomm has relied above all on TSMC (the largest independent semiconductor manufacturer in the world) with Samsung which, however, has struggled enough with the various Snapdragon 888, 888+ and 8 Gen 1 afflicted by not a few problems (consumption and overheating) to the point of inducing Qualcomm to move the production of the 8+ Gen 1 from TSMC and therefore solve some of the problems.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, on the other hand, due to these problems is been entrusted entirely to TSMC, with Samsung producing an exclusive overclocked version for the upcoming Galaxy S23 series. Returning to the future of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with a 3nm production process, the rumors speak of a majority of production by TSMC but a good portion also by Samsung which, after collaborating with the American company Silicon Frontline Technology, has managed to increase the rate of return from 10-20% to 60-70%.
Samsung Foundry is using for the first time the new GAA (Gate All Around) technology, this would allow the chips to have better energy and thermal efficiency compared to production with FinFET technology. However, it remains to be seen how much Samsung can compete with the giant TSMC for the production of 3nm chips but the competition between the two could still be advantageous for the market.
For example, we are talking about an Apple A17 Bionic chip made with a 3nm process by TSMC and a Google Tensor G3 with a 3nm chip made by Samsung. We'll see soon what Qualcomm's decision will be and if Samsung can overcome those hurdles to produce problem-free chips.