It’s happening again, we are seeing a new wave of rumors pointing to the demise of an upcoming Exynos CPU. This time, it’s about the upcoming Exynos 2600. The processor was once rumored to be a significant leap in mobile processing. However, a new rumor indicates that it may never see the light of the day. Samsung is considering canceling its production altogether due to the challenges with its 2nm fabrication process. The development raises questions about the future of Samsung’s in-house chip production.
Exynos 2600 Affected by Samsung Challenges with 2nm Manufacturing
The Exynos division has been surrounded by controversies in these past years. Despite the constraints, it is still alive and managing to survive with the Exynos 2400 as its latest release. The chipset did a good job against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but it still can’t beat Qualcomm for some consumers. While the Exynos 2500 might still be on the way with the upcoming Galaxy S25 series, the Exynos 2600 might be scrapped.
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The Exynos 2600 would embrace Samsung Foundry’s advanced 2nm process. However, the production yield rate, an important metric for determining how many usable chips are created from a single wafer, has reportedly been alarmingly low. The most recent figures suggest yields of only 10-20%, which are not viable for mass production. To recall, a similar issue happened with the 3nm process node, used for the Exynos 2500. The yields fell below 20%, and now there is speculation that Samsung might outsource the production of its flagship Exynos chips to TSMC.
https://x.com/Jukanlosreve/status/1859806474282910073
This rumor sounds even more plausible when Samsung has reportedly shut down several of its manufacturing facilities. The company scrapped the ones operating on older 4nm, 5nm, and 7nm technologies. As a result, its semiconductor arm is now working a smaller workforce. It has been further constrained by South Korea’s new 52-hour workweek regulation. Samsung is restructuring its semiconductor branch, but that can take years to materialize.
