TECH NEWS – The rising cost of manufacturing 2-nanometer chipsets has forced the South Korean tech giant to rethink its budget.

Samsung might be compelled to collaborate with Chinese firms to obtain certain materials used in its OLED displays. Until now, the company has sourced exclusively from local, American, and Japanese suppliers to avoid unnecessary cost hikes. But rumors indicate that the 2nm Exynos 2600 chipset could become too expensive to manufacture, pushing Samsung toward these new partnerships. The problem is that working with Chinese firms could also open the door to sensitive tech sharing — a major risk.

The Exynos 2600 prototype has recently entered initial mass production using the 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) process. Samsung aims to increase yield rates to 50% initially and ultimately to 70% to meet customer expectations. If these targets aren’t met, each 2nm GAA wafer could be extremely costly. If the chip is indeed used in the Galaxy S26, low yield rates would raise production costs per unit significantly.

According to the Korea Industry Post, Samsung may turn to Chinese manufacturers to reduce material expenses. If this tech makes its way into the Galaxy S26 series, the specifications could improve — an area where Samsung has faced criticism, especially as Chinese rivals capitalize on missed opportunities.

Samsung’s biggest edge — sourcing premium overseas materials for OLED innovation — might also be its biggest vulnerability. Any partnership could require opening up proprietary technology to Chinese entities, raising concerns about theft or replication. Given that Samsung produces the best smartphone and tablet displays in the world, rivals could gain critical leverage.

Apple, which also relies on Samsung for displays in many of its devices, could benefit from reduced costs too. However, it remains unclear whether Apple would approve such a partnership, at least for its own product lines.

Source: WCCFTech, Korea Industry Post