Samsung Commences Exynos 2600 Production by 2nm Process for Galaxy S26
Samsung's debuting full-scale production of the forthcoming Exynos 2600 chipset, reports The Bell. This is its first System-on-a-Chip (SoC) fabricated on its 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process, SF2. It will be one of two flagship chipsets for Galaxy S26, set to be unveiled early next year.
Production Progress and Yield Improvement
The "Fab-out" stage, wherein the final wafers leave the fabrication plant, will likely start from late October or early November. The most important development improvement, however, is in manufacturing yields. Initial trial production indicated that yields were approximately 30 percent during the early phase. The new report notes that this has been improved to 50 percent.
Prospective yield of 50 percent still lags behind the desired level for mass commercialization to external clients, but this is a great improvement. While things progress, Samsung is expected to further refine the process to increase this number, which is paramount for the use of Exynos 2600 in the Galaxy S26 and drawing future foundry customers.
Advantages of the 2nm GAA (SF2) Process
Among other things, Samsung's SF2 has advantages over this older, now less competitive technology: GAA from 3nm (SF3). The 2nm node offers:
- An increase in performance by 12 percent.
- Improvement in power efficiency by 25 percent.
Exynos 2600 in the Galaxy S26 Series
Supposedly, Samsung continues dual-chipset strategy with Galaxy S26. Exynos 2600 will be the inclusion within Samsung's home market-South Korea and in Europe. Models in the U.S. and China are expected to come with the dubious upcoming Snapdragon 8 elite Gen 5.
With this production timeline, Samsung will be confirming its Exynos 2600 early this year, such that it will be a direct competitor against flagship SoCs like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, MediaTek's Dimensity 9500, and Apple's A19 Pro.
Future of Samsung's 2nm Architecture
Samsung puts a lot into 2nm technology. The base design is completed for the either second-generation 2nm process, reportedly, by June this year. Further, a planned third-generation 2nm process, SF2P+, is forecast to materialize within the next two years in anticipation of high demand for advanced wafers in the future.
