Samsung is the kind of company that can afford to go against the market. Another question is that she very rarely does it. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other, she rarely uses it. Apparently, the time has come and now the company is ready to offer something unusual. Of course, such things are not done in one day, but she decided not to waste energy on the development of what is already there, but to do something for the future. The company said that it wants to bypass the upcoming generation of processors and immediately start working on an even newer one. I wonder how she can do it. But if it works out, then it will be like Wayne Gretsky, who said that you need to roll not where the puck is, but where it will be.
This processor causes a lot of controversy and they are all on the case.
Samsung Exynos Processors
Samsung produces extremely controversial chipsets, which, on the one hand, are not bad and even outperform their Snapdragon counterparts in single-core mode, but lose much in multi-core mode. These processors are not as popular among users as their American counterparts from Qualcomm. Because of this, you can often come across a misunderstanding when users, for example, in Russia are outraged that they were forced to buy a more expensive device than in the United States, and at the same time were given a simpler processor.
Many fans of the brand specifically for the sake of the processor order devices from other countries, but even in the native market for Samsung, in Korea, the company offers only Exynos. Whether it is bad or not, this is a topic for a separate conversation, as well as rumors that the new Google Pixel 5 could receive a Samsung processor. Now it is more worth talking about the plans of the company, which, it seems, wanted to become the new leader in the world of mobile processors, but has it not chosen a too simple and obvious path?
New Samsung processor
Back in 2017, Samsung announced its plans to produce chips with a 10nm to 4nm process technology. The stages of this path went gradually and some of them have already been passed – 10 nm and 7 nm. The next step is also very close.
Samsung's next-generation flagship processor, known as the Exynos 992, is reportedly to be manufactured using 5nm technology. Mass production will begin in August and the Galaxy Note 20 series will be the first to feature this particular chipset.
A new chip is always good, even if it's Exynos.
A new report released by DigiTimes says Samsung plans not to invest in 4nm processor technology, which should be the next step. Instead, the Korean giant will switch from a 5nm process technology directly to 3nm.
This is the exact opposite of what TSMC is planning with its 4nm chips, which are expected to arrive by 2022. TSMC also reportedly secured a $ 20 billion investment in its own 3nm processor. It is expected to arrive in 2023.
How much money Samsung plans to invest in development is not reported, but, apparently, the company wants to get ahead of the Taiwanese manufacturer. If she succeeds, then for some time it will be Samsung who will become the real leader in the production of processors for smartphones, and this is worth a lot. Moreover, its own chips are much cheaper for it than for competitors due to the presence of their own production. Having two such trump cards, Koreans will be able to either significantly reduce the price of their smartphones and attract buyers with a new chip, or sell them at the price of competitors, but make money on volume and lower costs.
Rivalry between Samsung and TSMC
While Samsung is the only manufacturer that can keep up with TSMC in terms of technology, it continues to lag behind in terms of progress. TSMC has already received orders from companies such as Apple, Qualcomm and Huawei, but now we understand that Samsung has decided to go the other way.
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Recently it was reported that Samsung has received several orders for mass production of 5nm chips for the Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G modem. Some orders are also reportedly going to be outsourced to TSMC to minimize risk, gain more efficient pricing leverage, and ensure shipments on time.
Based on the information received, we can conclude that next year Samsung will present its new Exynos 1000 processor, which will be built on a 5nm process technology. This step will allow the company to direct more efforts and resources to prepare a 3nm processor at once. If she succeeds, one cannot say that this will lead to an explosive growth in sales, but one must understand that even changes of a few percent will allow the balance sheet to swing in one direction or another by several billion dollars.
At the same time, this will give odds to Koreans for a while, who will outstrip TSMC, and therefore all smartphone manufacturers. At the end of the day, even if TSMC wants to do the same, it cannot do it due to the fact that it is bound by contracts. On the other hand, Samsung may still change its mind – there is still time.