Qualcomm has become a household name in leading high-end smartphones. The Snapdragon 835 SoC has top benchmarks and is the go-to chip for most high-end smartphone manufacturers. However, will MediaTek and TSMC build a more powerful chipset in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9?
The San Diego-based semiconductor company is the pioneer responsible for the commercialization of the cdmaOne (IS-95). This is the standard for wireless cellular communications and an early model for 3G mobile.
The well-known Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series SoC was first announced in 2013. Leading smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, LG, Sony, and Xiaomi all feature chips from the 800 series.
According to a report by WCCF Tech, Taiwan semiconductor brand MediaTek had to drastically reduce their clients' orders due to the popularity of the Snapdragon 835 SoC. This reduction of orders has prompted the company to delay its Helio X30.
The report also adds that MediaTek is partnering up with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Apparently, the two want to enter into a long-term partnership to produce a 12-core chipset. The report further stated that TSMC will begin risk production for the former later this year.
These 12-core chipsets will use a cutting-edge 7nm manufacturing process. At present, the Snapdragon 835 chipset only uses the 10nm manufacturing process. The chipsets made with the 7nm manufacturing process will likely surpass the performance and power savings of the 10nm-based mobile CPUs, according to Telegiz.
However, the Heli X30 will still release sometime this year. This will be based on MediaTek's current 10nm manufacturing process.
GSM Arena believes that the joint effort of MediaTek and TSMC will be something great. In fact, the chipset may be so great that Samsung could change their chip manufacturer altogether. Apparently, this new SoC will likely debut in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9, according to Telegiz's report. Does this mean that Qualcomm will no longer be the top chipset manufacturer in mobile CPUs?
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