Qualcomm has officially confirmed what has been rumored in the industry for months: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will receive a refreshed version made in the 2 nm production process. The information was confirmed during the CES 2026 fair by the company’s CEO, Cristiano Amon, emphasizing that the new chip will be produced in cooperation with the Samsung Foundry, and not with TSMC, as is the case with the previous variant.
The current version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 uses TSMC’s N3P process, which is in the 3nm class and brings moderate improvements in transistor packing density, performance and power consumption over the older N3E. However, Qualcomm is now making a technological leap towards the 2 nm process, which aims to further improve efficiency and ensure long-term competitiveness at the top of the range.
2nm version of Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 only for Samsung flip phones
According to Cristian Amon, Qualcomm was among the first to start talks with Samsung Electronics about using the latest 2 nm process, and the chip design is already finished and aimed at commercialization. However, he did not disclose technical details such as operating frequencies, performance or power consumption.
Industry sources, as reported by Hankyung Insight, state that Samsung Foundry will take over about 10% of the total production of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chips. That variant, known as SM8850s, will have a very limited application. According to a reliable source, this 2 nm chip will not be used in the Galaxy S26 series, but exclusively in two new folding models: Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8.
This move indicates that Qualcomm and Samsung treat this 2 nm chip as a kind of pilot project, intended for devices with a smaller volume of deliveries, but high prestige. If it proves to be successful in practice, the 2 nm Snapdragon could be widely used in the next generations of flagship phones, writes Notebookcheck.