The year 2026 will be a breakthrough for 2nm chips. Apple is reported to have secured more than half of the initial capacity of TSMC’s 2nm N2 variant for the upcoming A20 chips. This move throws Android chip manufacturers, Qualcomm and MediaTek, under the bus. However, a new leak says that the chipmakers will utilize TSMC’s improved 2nm N2P node for their Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600 may use TSMC’s N2P node
As per the latest leak from Weibo tipster Fixed-focus digital , TSMC’s N2 process has officially entered mass production. He notes that many devices in Q3 will utilize this process, including A20 and A20 Pro chips. He adds that Qualcomm and MediaTek will utilize the N2P process. This is expected to offer advantages over N2 in terms of maximum frequency. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about this rumor , but what’s interesting is that the same leaker previously refuted it.
This’ll apparently give Qualcomm and MediaTek an edge over Apple’s A20 and A20 Pro chips, besides ensuring adequate wafer shipments. Having said that, TSMC’s N2P tech will reportedly only offer a 5% performance uplift over the N2 node.
The N2P process may only offer marginal improvements
TSMC reportedly stated that the design rules between N2P and N2 remain the same. This should make the transition seamless for Qualcomm and MediaTek. Thanks to 2nm N2P, both Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600 may achieve higher CPU frequencies. This could result in improved single-threaded and multi-threaded performance.
To jog your memory, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and A19 Pro share the same 3nm N3P lithography. However, Qualcomm’s SoC reportedly needs to consume 61% more power in Geekbench 6 platform to beat Apple’s silicon. This apparently affects the efficiency.
Though the 5% performance gains between N2P and N2 may not be much, it could reduce the efficiency gap for the next-generation chips. The chips could achieve a bandwidth edge over the A20 and A20 Pro, thanks to the support for LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage. But we’ll wait for real-world results. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600 should debut in the second half of the year.
