Samsung can’t churn out 7nm chips in 2018

TSMC will nick some of Qualcomm modem chip and core processor orders from its biggest rival Samsung Electronics next year.

TSMC's win of Qualcomm orders shows the edge that the Taiwanese company is set to gain over Samsung in 2018.

According to the Nikkei, Qualcomm is engaging TSMC to roll out a modem chip very soon in the first half of 2018 and TSMC will manufacture the mobile giant's upcoming flagship Snapdragon processor, known as Snapdragon 855, before the end of next year.

Apparently, it is all because Samsung can’t churn out 7nm chips in 2018

Qualcomm's core processors are popular with makers of Android mobile handsets, while Apple designs its own for iPhones which are then made by TSMC.

Next year, one of Qualcomm's modem chips and its new Snapdragon processor will adopt TSMC's latest 7-nanometer technology, which the Taiwanese company will also use to make the core processors going into new iPhones in 2018, two people said.

Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 845 processors are made by Samsung using 10nm technology. Snapdragon 835 processors have been adopted by a wide range of smartphone makers including Samsung, Oppo, Sony and Xiaomi, while Xiaomi will be the first to use the Snapdragon 845 chip that was unveiled earlier this month.

Qualcomm is still likely to transfer orders back to Samsung in 2019 if its 7nm chip facility becomes ready, as the South Korean conglomerate buys chips from the US chip designer for its mobile devices.