Last updated: July 24th, 2026 at 13:18 UTC+02:00
SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, we may earn a commission.
These companies have been working together over the past 30 years.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Samsung
Samsung's recent Galaxy Unpacked event underscored how close the company is to Qualcomm. Despite reports claiming that Samsung wants to use in-house Exynos chips in more Galaxy devices across its ecosystem, the company has used Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips in almost all its newly announced products.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Watch 9, and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 all use Qualcomm Snapdragon chips exclusively around the world.
Qualcomm, Samsung
Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra using Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor – Source: Qualcomm, Samsung
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, while the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 use the Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, which is built on a cutting-edge 3nm process.
The Galaxy Z Flip 8 also uses a Snapdragon chip in select markets, including China and the US. In other markets, it uses the in-house Exynos 2600 processor.
Qualcomm, Samsung
Galaxy Watch 9 Ultra 2 using the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor – Source: Qualcomm, Samsung
Even Samsung's newly unveiled smart glasses, developed in partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, use Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset exclusively.
Samsung's first mixed-reality headset, which launched a few months ago, also uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset exclusively.
Samsung's high-end phones, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, use Qualcomm's highest-performance Snapdragon chips with the “for Galaxy” branding. Many midrange Galaxy phones, such as the Galaxy A27 and Galaxy M47, also use Snapdragon chips. Some Galaxy Book laptops, including the Galaxy Book 4 Edge and Galaxy Book 6 Edge, use Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips.
Samsung
Samsung MX COO Won-Joon Choi and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during Galaxy Unpacked event in July 2026 – Source: Samsung
Qualcomm also uses Samsung Electro-Mechanics' FC-BGA substrates in its server-grade AI chips. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon appeared on stage during Samsung's recent Galaxy Unpacked event and said that Qualcomm and Samsung have worked together for the past 30 years, highlighting the strength of their partnership.
First Samsung device: T100
Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S23 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.
