- The most efficient chipsets we’ve seen till date in mobile phones are based on the 3nm fabrication process, and found in the iPhone 15 Pro models.
- This Exynos 2nm chip is believed to come into mass production in 2025, perhaps in time for the Galaxy S26 series supply.
- Apple’s iPhone 17 series are expected to be the first phones to debut 2nm-fabricated chipsets on a smartphone.
Samsung’s in-house Exynos mobile processors have been less power-efficient than its Qualcomm counterpart so far. However, recently we heard its 3nm fabrication process for the upcoming flagship Exynos 2500 chipset will be more efficient and now, the latest news suggests something even better. It’s allegedly called Project Tethys and is for developing a cutting-edge 2nm Application Processor (AP) expected to debut on the Samsung Galaxy S26 series.
For context, Samsung’s rival Apple was the first in the world to progress to a 3nm process for fabricating the A17 Pro chipset, with its iPhone 15 Pro lineup. Android chipmakers Qualcomm and MediaTek, on 4nm chips currently, are known to be working on more efficient 3 and 2-nanometer chips. 3nm chips are known to be more power-efficient, better battery life, less heating issues – and all this leading to more longevity. 2nm chipsets are expected to better what 3nm currently offers.
Samsung’s Project ‘Tethys’ (rumours)
Per South Korea’s ETNews, Project ‘Tethys’ is the codename for fabricating 2nm chips. Samsung Electronics announced it will mass-produce the 2nm architecture for mobile devices by 2025. It’ll be using its fabs in Korea and Texas for this.
So we can expect the 2nm chip likely called Exynos 2600 SoC to come inside the Galaxy S26 series launching in 2026.
Meanwhile, if the rumours from the other side are true, Qualcomm could continue using the 4nm process for Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC. This could give Samsung the upper hand, at least theoretically. Even if Qualcomm goes with TSMC’s 3nm node, Samsung will still have a more efficient architecture. Now how it employs the same will make all the difference.
Since TSMC, the chip fabricator for Qualcomm will be busy serving Apple’s humongous demands (in the form of chips for iPhones and Macs), Samsung could use that to its advantage. The former is also rumoured to have the capacity and actual-working foundries for 3nm and 2nm chips, but again, the aforesaid demand could become a hurdle.
Samsung’s 3nm GAA Plus (rumours)
Other Samsung efforts include the adoption of the GAA Plus transistor structure for its 3nm chips. While the whole chip industry is set to swap finFETs structure with GAA Plus (also called GAP), Samsung could be at the forefront.
The GAA Plus is said to offer more bandwidth, more drive current and curtail leakage, leading to more power and efficiency with less heat. So, Samsung adopting this could make the forthcoming Exynos chips more efficient, perhaps even ready to take on the competition.
Let’s see how it goes.
