For years now, there has been a race between Apple and Samsung for who offers the most advanced processors in their smartphones. Currently, both brands are neck to neck. While the iPhone 16 series features the Apple A18 chipset made on a 3nm fabrication process, the Galaxy S25 lineup offers Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is also made on a 3nm fabrication process. However, with their upcoming phones, Samsung may take the lead in the race.
According to various reports, including that from popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will be able to start offering iPhones with 2nm chips from the second half of 2026. It means that the iPhone 18 series with the Apple A20 series SoC will be the first to offer the tech. That’s because the foundry from which the Cupertino-based tech giant sources the A-series chipsets, TSMC, won’t be able to ready the 2nm fabrication technology for mass production before that.
Samsung Foundry, on the other hand, has made a significant progress with the 2nm fabrication process, and reports suggest that the tech giant will be able to offer the Exynos 2600 chipset, which will be made on a 2nm fabrication process, in time for the Galaxy S26 series, which will arrive in the first half of the next year (2026). If that turns out to be true, Samsung will have offered phones with 2nm chipsets before Apple does, giving it an edge in the market.
Samsung may also beat Qualcomm at the 2nm game
Samsung’s next biggest rival in the chipset market, Qualcomm, is also said to start offering chipsets with 2nm nodes in 2026. However, there’s no information on whether it will be before or after Samsung does. Considering reports suggesting that Qualcomm will get them made from TSMC, we assume it will be after the South Korea tech giant offers. In that case, Samsung will be the first brand to offer phones with 2nm chipsets in the market.
