Samsung Foundry needs yield to hit 70% on 2nm node to finalize Galaxy S26 AP specs
Samsung Foundry is about to start mass producing a prototype version of the decacore Exynos 2600 AP.
Despite Samsung Foundry's 2nm trials showing yields in the 30% range, Sammy's latest application processor (AP), the Exynos 2600, is now reportedly going through prototype mass production using Samsung Foundry's 2nm GAA process node. Some of the company's units, such as its LSI chip design arm, and the aforementioned Samsung Foundry division, are hard at work seeking to improve yields.
Low yields mean that only a small number of dies cut from a silicon wafer pass through QA and are deemed usable. The smaller the yield, the more expensive are the chips that survive the manufacturing process. Look at it this way. A baker bakes 100 cookies and only 30 come out edible. The cost to bake those 100 cookies can be split among 30 cookies only. If 75 cookies come out of the baking process without any defects, the cost of production is now divided by 75 reducing the cost.
At the start of this year, Samsung Foundry's yield for 2nm trials was 30%. Since May, the foundry has been targeting a 50% yield and it must rise to 70% in order to make it worthwhile for Samsung Foundry to mass produce the Exynos 2600 at a 2nm process node. Not only does it seem that the Exynos 2600 will be one of the first APs to be built at 2nm, it will also be among the first to use Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors. GAA transistors cover the channel on all four sides reducing current leakage and improving the drive current. Thus chips using GAA have improved performance while being more energy-efficient.
Once Samsung is done with the mass production of the Exynos 2600 prototypes, it will start risk production while the foundry works on improving its yield. Official mass production of the Exynos 2600 AP could start in December or January just months before the expected February release of the Galaxy S26 series. The Exynos 2600 is expected to be equipped with 10 CPU cores.
If Samsung Foundry can hike its 2nm yields to 70% we could see the Exynos 2600 power the Galaxy S26, and the Galaxy S26+ in Europe, and depending on yields, in other regions outside of the U.S., Canada, and China. In those three markets, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 AP, built by TSMC using its 3nm node, will be under the hood of the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy A26+ models. In all regions, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 AP.
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