2024 was a tough year for Samsung Foundry, the company’s semiconductor division. The poor yield of its 3nm wafers negatively impacted Samsung MX/Samsung Mobile as the company was forced to turn to Qualcomm for the Galaxy S25 series. That said, Samsung’s first tests of its 2nm process yielded quite promising results.
Korean outlet The Bell offered first details on how Samsung’s 2nm process is going. According to the report, testing is in its early stages with some wafers set. The results offered a yield rate of 30%, which exceeded the company’s expectations. While 30% may seem like a small figure, it’s actually a pretty positive output for an initial test. From here, the yield rate can only improve through optimizations.
First yield rate tests on Samsung’s 2nm process show promising results
Samsung is expected to achieve a cost-effective yield rate on its 2nm tech sometime this year. So, it’s quite possible that the upcoming Exynos 2600 chip won’t experience the problems of its predecessor. Recall that Samsung was unable to mass-produce the Exynos 2500 in 2024 due to its 3nm wafers’ extremely low yield rates. According to reports, the numbers reached 10% at its worst, which was unfeasible.
Samsung’s 2nm process will bring some performance and efficiency improvements. The list includes 12% better performance, 25% more power efficiency, and 5% smaller chips. If all goes well, most Galaxy S26 series units will likely be equipped with the 2nm Exynos 2600 chip.
In December, Samsung executives confirmed that it managed to stabilize their 3nm wafers. According to a recent report, the firm is now working on optimizing the Exynos 2500 chip. Samsung will implement it in at least a couple of foldables this year: the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Flip FE. It is unknown whether the South Korean giant will also equip the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with its own hardware or if it will fall back on the expensive Snapdragon 8 Elite.
The Exynos 2500 could be a turning point for Samsung. The performance it delivers could determine the public’s perception of the company’s proprietary SoCs.
