Samsung was anticipated to unveil the Galaxy S25 series in January 2025, featuring Exynos chips for the S25 and S25+ models and Snapdragon chips for the S25 Ultra. However, plans may change due to production challenges.
Business Korea reports that Samsung might switch to Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (a.k.a 8 Elite) chips for the entire lineup because of low production yields of the Exynos 2500 chips, potentially leading to a shortage at launch.
The report indicates that Samsung Foundry is experiencing a “low yield” in the 3nm process, although specific figures were not provided.
In the semiconductor industry, yields are never perfect due to the nature of cutting rectangular chips from circular wafers, resulting in inevitable waste.
Moreover, not all chips meet quality certification standards, which is why yield rates differ across production lines.
Should the report prove accurate, it would represent another setback for Samsung’s semiconductor business. The company has previously lost orders from Nvidia and Apple, which have shifted to TSMC for their AI-enabled chips.