On October 7, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 series is expected to be the company’s first mobile phone with a 3nm chip. It was previously rumored that Samsung would use the 3nm Exynos 2500 in the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 +, and the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, the latest report says that this plan may change due to the difficulties the company is facing with its own 3nm Exynos chips.
According to South Korean media Business Korea, Samsung’s 3nm Exynos 2500 chip is facing yield problems. Yield refers to the percentage of all chips that pass quality certification, and the rest of the chips are discarded. Although Samsung is confident in the second-generation 3nm process and the Exynos 2500 chip, the report said its yield is low, though it did not give specific figures.
Igeekphone noted that Samsung’s semiconductor chip foundry business has been facing challenges. Despite billions of dollars of investment, the company has failed to catch up with TSMC. In fact, the gap is widening. In the second quarter of this year, TSMC’s market share rose to 62.3 per cent, while Samsung’s foundry market share fell to just 11.5 per cent.
If the report is true, Samsung could be forced to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in all Galaxy S25 series models worldwide – the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 + and Galaxy S25 Ultra. In the past, Snapdragon chips have always been more powerful and efficient than the corresponding Exynos chips.