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Despite ridiculously low yields, Samsung says all systems are go for the 2026 Exynos 2600 AP

By Alan Friedman

Published: Nov 29, 2024, 8:52 PM

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A Samsung Exynos placeholder appears on a background designed to look like the circuitry on a phone's motherboard.

Last May, we told you that Samsung had started working on its next application processor (AP), the Exynos 2600. The semiconductor would be produced by Samsung Foundry using the foundry's first generation 2nm node known as SF2. The chipset would be used to power the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ in certain markets during 2026. Originally, the thought was that Samsung would be countering Apple's first 2nm chips which would power the iPhone 17 series next year.

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Expired

The 2nm battle would be on as Apple would rely on TSMC's first-gen 2nm node known as N2 to build the A19 and A19 Pro chipsets. But the gang in Cupertino apparently decided to make a big change according to TF International's reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst says that the A19 and A19 Pro SoCs powering the iPhone 17 series will be made using TSMC's third-generation 3nm process node aka N3P. As a result, instead of Samsung answering Apple with its 2nm Exynos 2600, Apple will be countering Samsung.

To reiterate, instead of the iPhone 17 line becoming the first phones to use a 2nm processor next September followed by the 2nm Exynos 2600 powering the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ in early 2026, the Exynos 2600 might beat the A19 and A19 Pro and break the 2nm tape first. However, earlier this week the rumor mill spit out a shocker; Samsung was going to cancel the Exynos 2600 because of incredibly low yields rumored to be 10% to 20% on Samsung Foundry's 2nm process node.

A silicon wafer in the process of being turned into chips.

Samsung Foundry desperately needs to improve its 2nm yield which is in a range of 10%-20%. | Image credit-Samsung Foundry

This is an issue that Samsung Foundry has been battling with for years dating back to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The yield is expressed as a percentage of the number of functional chips produced from a silicon wafer. The rumored 10%-20% yield for Samsung Foundry is so low that canceling the Exynos 2600 seemed like the right call to make. However, a Samsung spokesman said this week that the rumor about the Exynos 2600 being canceled was not true.

"I can confirm that the claim that Exynos 2600 production is being canceled is not true and is based on groundless rumors."-Samsung spokesman

There has been speculation that the Exynos 2600 will use an in-house GPU instead of the usual AMD-sourced GPU. That is just speculation. The big news here is that despite talk of low yields and the rumored cancelation of the Exynos 2600 AP, it appears that Samsung does intend to produce the chipset using Samsung Foundry's 2nm node in time to be included with the 2026 flagship line. Instead of the iPhone 17 line being the first to market with a 2nm AP, it now looks like the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ will have that distinction.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.