Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 has been used in all manner of flagship devices this year, including the pre-eminent Galaxy S8 in some territories.
Based on the latest 10nm process, the chip is a top-of-the-range offering, but Qualcomm is looking to outdo itself next year, reportedly eyeing up the even more efficient 7nm process.
And while Samsung's own manufacturing arm produced the Snapdragon 835, a new report claims Qualcomm will drop Samsung in favour of rival firm TSMC for its next chipset.
TSMC is said to be much further along in developing the 7nm process than Samsung, which has reportedly – and not surprisingly – affected Qualcomm's decision.
As Fudzilla reports, Qualcomm is said to have been working on its next-generation 7nm Snapdragon AP since the second half of 2016, using chip development tools from TSMC.
The Snapdragon 660 and 630
Samsung, on the other hand, has lagged behind its rival in the development of the 7nm technology, as TSMC decided to skip the 10nm process in favour of getting a head-start on the more efficient process.
