Earlier today, Qualcomm officially released a third-generation 5G modem-to-antenna solution to the world, namely the Snapdragon X60 5G modem and RF system. A bit later, two people familiar with the matter said that the semiconductor manufacturing division of Samsung Electronics has won Qualcomm’s 5G chip foundry contract.
The source claims that Samsung Electronics will manufacture at least a part of the Qualcomm X60 modem chip. The latter can connect smartphones and other devices to 5G wireless data networks.
The Snapdragon X60 is also the world’s first 5G modem and RF system to support the aggregation of all major frequency bands and their combinations. They include millimeter-wave and FDD and TDD bands below 6GHz.
How Samsung Won This Contract of Snapdragon X60?
It turns out the Snapdragon X60 will be manufactured using Samsung Electronics’ 5-nanometer process. This makes the chip smaller and more energy-efficient than previous generations.
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Currently, Samsung Electronics is actively expanding its external foundry business and intends to challenge the industry giant TSMC. Obviously, winning the Snapdragon X60 foundry order helps Samsung to grab share from TSMC.
Also Read: TSMC 5nm Process To Contribute 10% Of Its Revenue This Year
However, TSMC is also expected to manufacture 5nm modem chips (Snapdragon X60) for Qualcomm. As for the percentage of foundry orders received by Samsung Electronics and TSMC, it is still unclear.
As we all know, Samsung is famous for its smartphones and other electronic devices. But through its foundry division, Samsung is also the world’s second-largest chip maker. In addition to manufacturing parts needed for its own products, it also makes chips for external customers such as IBM and NVIDIA.
Even if it only won some orders for the Snapdragon X 60, it means that Qualcomm has become one of Samsung’s most important customers for 5nm manufacturing technology.
