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Qualcomm Suggests Its Chips Will Power Most Galaxy S26 Models; Samsung May Produce 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Reports

Qualcomm Suggests Its Chips Will Power Most Galaxy S26 Models; Samsung May Produce 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Reports

Samsung will reportedly allocate about 10 percent of its monthly production capacity at the S3 plant in Hwaseong to Qualcomm.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 9 January 2026 13:36 IST

Qualcomm Suggests Its Chips Will Power Most Galaxy S26 Models; Samsung May Produce 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Reports

Photo Credit: Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is currently produced by TSMC using a 3nm process

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Highlights

Qualcomm reportedly completed 2nm chip design with Samsung
Samsung used Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for Galaxy S25 series
Samsung could adopt a dual chip policy for the Galaxy S26 series

Samsung Galaxy S26 series is expected to launch soon, and leaks about the flagship lineup have already surfaced in various reports and on social media. The series, which is likely to include the standard Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, was initially believed to use Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600 chip. But now, a recent report suggests that a majority of the new lineup will be equipped with Snapdragon chipsets. Qualcomm is also said to be in talks with Samsung Electronics for manufacturing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 using the latest two-nanometre process.

Qualcomm in Talks With Samsung to Produce 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chips

As per a report by Sammobile, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, during CES 2026 said that the company is in discussions with Samsung to produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset using Samsung's advanced 2nm fabrication process. The company currently produces its flagship chip using TSMC's 3nm process technology.

Amon reportedly hinted at the chipsets powering the Galaxy S26 series by saying, “premium phones, which Samsung focuses on, are experiencing high growth. Since Samsung always secures more than two suppliers, Qualcomm will be able to maintain a 75 percent market share for Galaxy APs.”

Samsung Galaxy M17e Lands on Play Console, May Share Specs With This Model

This suggests that despite Samsung's rumoured plans to widely adopt the in-house Exynos 2600 for the Galaxy S26 series, Snapdragon chips will be packed in most Galaxy S26 models worldwide.

Meanwhile, Korean publication Hankyung reports that Samsung is preparing to manufacture Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 on its 2nm process. The chip is currently produced by TSMC using a 3nm process. The report citing Cristiano Amon states that a 2nm chip design with Samsung has been completed, and they are now exchanging wafers for performance modification, indicating that commercialisation is close.

The report, citing industry insiders, claims that Samsung plans to allocate about 10 percent of the monthly production capacity at its S3 facility in Hwaseong to Qualcomm. The facility is said to have the capacity to produce 2,000 wafers. With each 2nm wafer priced at $20,000 (roughly Rs. 18,03,400), Samsung could generate around KRW 690 billion (roughly 47 crore) annually from Qualcomm alone.

Samsung Reportedly Exploring Reversible Front-and-Back Flip Phone Design

Recent leaks claimed that Samsung will adopt its popular dual chip policy for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series by launching Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powered variants in key markets like the US, Japan, and China and using the in-house Exynos 2600 chipset versions in regions such as South Korea and Europe. The Galaxy S25 lineup, on the other hand, relied solely on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset across all markets.

The South Korean technology conglomerate is reportedly expected to host its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 in San Francisco on February 25, to unveil the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 series of smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy S25

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Compact and excellent aesthetics
Top-notch display
AI features loaded
One UI 7 brings nice updates
Decent cameras

Bad
25W fast-charging limit
Expensive (base price)

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy S25 review

Display 6.20-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 4000mAh

OS Android 15

Resolution 1080x2340 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Samsung, Samsung Electronics, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Snapdragon, Qualcomm

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More