The Galaxy S26 and other phones from Samsung are expected to use the newly-announced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset when they arrive next year. But the story could be more complicated than initially thought, with Samsung's next-gen foldables possibly getting an advanced version of the chip.
Reporting by NewDaily out of Korea claims that Samsung has passed Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 samples to Qualcomm, made in its own silicon foundry. This is noteworthy since Qualcomm usually relies on another company, TSMC, to build its chips.
More importantly, Samsung's chip uses an advanced 2-nanometer process, rather than the 3-nanometer process that the TSMC version will be built on. This, in theory, would make the Samsung version of the chip more powerful and more power efficient than the regular version.
These special in-house Samsung chips will apparently be made for use in its phones launching later in 2026, specifically the Galaxy Z Flip 8. We'd expect the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to use it as well if this is true.
However, this all depends on Qualcomm giving its blessing for Samsung to produce its chip design. The giving of that support is reliant on those chips being high-enough quality, hence the request for samples. Fortunately for Samsung, NewDaily claims analysts have a positive outlook for Samsung's foundry, despite historic manufacturing trouble.
Why it matters
Samsung won't be the first to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. Some phones that are already confirmed to be using it, such as the OnePlus 15, are expected to launch earlier, and some, such as the Xiaomi 17 series, are already on sale in some regions with the latest chipset within.
However, Samsung does benefit from getting better versions of the chip earlier. It already gets access to a higher-speed version of each generation of flagship chip — branded as "For Galaxy" — before Qualcomm creates a generic "Leading Version" for other brands to use later in the year.
Being able to build its own chip with its own, more advanced manufacturing process, builds on this advantage even further. It may also lead to a lower parts bill for Samsung, given it can buy chips from itself, which could keep phone prices down for consumers, too.
But which phones will get the coveted 2nm Elite Gen 5 chip is uncertain. Samsung's also building the Exynos 2600, the latest chip in the company's own flagship silicon line-up, and one also tipped to be built on a 2nm process. When we consider that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 uses an Exynos 2500, and that there are rumors of certain Galaxy S26 models using Exynos silicon instead of Snapdragon, it feels up in the air exactly how Samsung would put its homemade Snapdragon chips to use.
We can only wait and see what further rumors tell us about the chips that Samsung's 2026 flagship phones will use, or for an actual announcement from the company. But we may be waiting until at least early next year, or midway through the year, the typical launch timing of new Samsung foldables, to finally learn the truth.
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