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Google’s Gemini Nano AI deal with Samsung on EU antitrust radar

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Samsung Google Gemini

EU seemingly investigating if Google’s Gemini AI deal with Samsung violates antitrust law. Regulators of the European Union seeking input from industry to know if Samsung’s Gemini AI deal constitutes anti-competitive conduct.

An EU document seen by Reuters indicates that the Commission wants the opinion of industry officials. The inquiry is about whether Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series with Gemini Nano would limit the pre-installation of rival AI chatbot platforms.

The query also includes whether Gemini Nano limits interoperability with other chatbots and apps on the Galaxy S24 series. Details are also required if there were any cases of failure in signing contracts with phone makers to pre-install AI chatbots.

“EU antitrust regulators are asking industry participants if Google’s multi-year generative artificial intelligence (AI) deal with Samsung hinders rival chatbots on Samsung smartphones.” – Reuters.

Earlier, EU competition authorities hinted at an antitrust investigation into Samsung and Google’s AI deal. The Commission’s Deputy Competition Commissioner asked to “understand the impact of pre-installing Google’s Gemini Nano on Samsung devices.”

The report notes that the executive committee distributed an 8-page questionnaire, with a response required by this week. Samsung and Google may be in trouble if the EU Commission observes any anti-competitive practices.

The Galaxy S24 series is the first to use the Gemini Nano AI model developed by Google. Both companies signed a multi-year partnership to fuel future products with the AI model. The Pixel 8 Pro also came pre-installed with Gemini Nano for on-device AI capabilities.

Samsung also brought Gemini AI to Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 devices. Google is also preparing to introduce the Pixel 9 series next month, equipped with Gemini Nano. Apple is also in close-door talks with Google to include Gemini in iPhone models.

James is the lead content creator on Sammy Fans and mostly works on Samsung's firmware section. His first phone was the Galaxy S4 and continues to get new S series devices. Most of the time, James tries to learn about new technologies and gadgets but he also sneaks a bit of free time to nearby rivers and nature.

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Samsung Galaxy Fold SE sparks chaos as 3rd Batch sold out in record time!

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE (Special Edition) has sold out its 3rd batch in record time. The company has started the third round of sales for the Galaxy Z Fold SE today at 10 AM (Korea Time).

While the exact number of units available has not been disclosed, the entire 3rd batch stock of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE was sold out within just 10 minutes of the sale opening.

As this was the third batch, the inventory was larger than the first and second batches. Recently, we’ve heard the same for the Chinese market, which came as a shocking development.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition Sold Out

It’s worth noting that the Galaxy Z Fold SE had also sold out in just 10 minutes during its first sale on October 25th, and the second batch sold out in about 5 minutes.

Notably, the three major telecom providers in Korea are handling the second batch of inventory through their official online stores, with SK Telecom and LG Uplus preparing additional stock for the second batch to start sequential deliveries.

For starters, the Galaxy Z Fold SE is the thinnest and lightest Samsung foldable to date. The smartphone comes with a thickness of 10.6mm and a weight of 236g.

It is 1.5mm thinner and 3g lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 released in July this year. It is also the first foldable phone series to feature a 200-megapixel primary camera.

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Samsung’s 3nm setback pushes it toward 2nm chip development

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Samsung Exynos 1580

Samsung is eyeing 2nm process technology for future growth. The company has tried much to improve the second-generation 3nm yields. However, the efforts didn’t pay off so far, leading it to be considered a big failure.

According to the info (via SamMobile), Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm process yields are less than 20%. It’s like a disaster against the company’s internal yield target, which was about 70% for the second-generation 3nm process.

The Korean tech giant has reportedly achieved a 50-60% yield rate in the first-gen 3nm process. The Galaxy S25’s Exynos was slated to be manufactured using the second-generation process, which is now “almost” impossible to materialize.

Insider info on Samsung’s work on 3nm and 2nm process

Through domestic articles and related information, details have emerged regarding Samsung Electronics’ yield rates for its 3nm process.

The yield rates for Samsung’s first and second-generation 3nm processes are as follows:

  • SF3E-3GAE: Around 50-60%
  • SF3-3GAP: Around 20%

For reference, the initial target yield for both the first and second generations was around 70%.

P.S. Additionally, it has been mentioned that the Exynos 2500’s yield is so low that no matter what efforts are made, it couldn’t be used.

TSMC is leading the contract chip manufacturing business globally. The company has several major vendors such as Apple, Qualcomm, and Google (for the next Tensor). It’s obvious that chip designers have no other option than TSMC.

Meanwhile, Samsung is now working on the 2nm process technology. The company is planning to commence fabricating chips using the 2nm GAA process in 2025. A recent report also hinted at some Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 to be made by Samsung.

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Samsung Galaxy S26 may feature 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 with 20% performance boost

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Snapdragon 8 Elite 2

While all eyes are on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra have started to appear online. Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 could be manufactured using Samsung’s 2nm process tech alongside TSMC 3nm.

Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 will power the Galaxy S26 series. Tipster Jukanlosreve reports that Qualcomm’s next Snapdragon chip will offer a 20% increase in performance.

The product could have about 20% boosted single-core and core multi-core performance scores compared to the first-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite.

The source highlighted that the 8 Elite 2 reached 4000 points in Geekbench 6‘s single-core test. This development suggests a major breakthrough in Android flagship performance next year.

Qualcomm is using TSMC’s 3nm process node for the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The chip is set to be featured in Samsung’s Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra next year.

The chip designer could stick to TSMC’s 3nm foundry process. However, a part of the chipsets could be made using Samsung Foundry’s 2nm process node, probably the “for Galaxy” iteration.

https://x.com/Jukanlosreve/status/1855838039563759633

The Snapdragon 8 Elite features Qualcomm’s in-house Oryon CPU. The new product offers significant CPU and GPU performance improvements as compared to previous flagship Snapdragon chipsets.

The 8 Elite also marks Qualcomm’s entry to the 3nm process era. The 2nd-gen chip could also be manufactured using the 3nm process technology. However, Samsung Foundry could get some orders for 2nm Snapdragon through Samsung Elec.

The processor works as the brain of a smartphone. In the booming era, consumers seek intense performance with decent power efficiency. Minor improvements can be done through refinements but major changes come with process shifts (3nm to 2nm).

As we are quite far from the S26 series unveiling, take this information as a grain of salt. It’s true companies start planning their future products in advance. However, changes and strategic shifts are likely till the 3rd quarter of the next year.

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