The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip was launched last month in Hawaii with the Xiaomi 17 series being the first to use it. At the Snapdragon Summit event, Samsung representatives confirmed that the Galaxy S26 series will also use this chip with the For Galaxy version being typically faster than the regular version.
This morning Biznews Daily reported that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy will be manufactured in-house by Samsung Foundry using 2nm (SF2) technology. If this report is true, it will make the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy the second chip after the Exynos 2600 which uses 2nm technology. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip is currently manufactured using TSMC's 3nm technology.
The 2nm technology will make the processor better in terms of power efficiency and is more important for Samsung to regain trust from Qualcomm to use their foundry. Issues with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 1 which used Samsung's technology caused Qualcomm to move to TSMC.
If the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy sample meets Qualcomm standards, it is hoped that it will allow Samsung to return to producing flagship chips for other customers who are currently all using TSMC's foundry.
