Samsung Electronics has reportedly secured an Anthropic AI chip production deal, adding one of the world’s leading AI companies to its growing 2nm foundry customer list.

According to SemiconductorsX, Anthropic is expected to use Samsung Foundry’s 2nm manufacturing process and advanced packaging technologies for its custom AI chips, marking another significant design win as Samsung works to expand its foundry business and narrow the gap with TSMC.

Samsung has reached an agreement to make Anthropic’s proprietary AI chips. While neither company announced the partnership, the reported deal aligns with Anthropic’s broader strategy of developing its own AI silicon.

Anthropic already named Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron as strategic partners during its Series H funding round earlier this year.

The chips are expected to be manufactured using Samsung’s 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process alongside the company’s advanced packaging technologies.

The reported Anthropic contract arrives shortly after Samsung’s 2nm momentum gained another boost through Tesla’s AI5 program.

A Samsung Foundry executive recently confirmed that Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chip has entered the tape-out stage, an important milestone before prototype production and yield optimization.

The company was the first foundry to mass-produce 3nm chips using GAA technology, but it has struggled to translate technical milestones into the volume of orders enjoyed by rival TSMC.

Samsung topped the global smartphone market in Q2 2026. Two different market research agencies, Counterpoint Research and Omdia, have the same news: Samsung led the market, despite shipments hitting a 13-year low.

Non-premium smartphone portfolio faced the steepest decline in Q2 2026. Memory and storage alone now account for more than 60 percent of the bill of materials for budget devices and more than 30 percent for high-end models.

Counterpoint Research

According to Counterpoint, global smartphone shipments fell 11 percent year-on-year in Q2 2026. Samsung had a market share of 24 percent, and Apple had 20 percent, while Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo secured 12%, 11%, and 8%, respectively.

Samsung reclaimed its global No.1 position with a 24% share in Q2 2026 and recorded the strongest growth among top five brands.

The Galaxy S26 series drove overall shipment growth, with the Ultra variant emerging as the standout performer. Samsung’s vertical integration, AI portfolio, and refreshed product lineup helped sustain growth despite weaker demand.

Omdia

According to Omdia’s latest research, global smartphone shipments fell 4 percent year-on-year in Q2 2026 as the ongoing memory crisis disrupted supply and pushed up component costs.

Omdia also reported (via SemiconductorsX) Samsung as the Q2 2026 winner, but with a different market share. According to the agency, Samsung and Apple secured 22 percent and 20 percent market share, respectively. Chinese manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, faced a decline, seizing 11 percent, 10 percent, and 8 percent, respectively.

Well, Omdia anticipates the sharpest volume declines to hit in the upcoming two quarters, where normal seasonal demand peaks, driven by new launches, holidays, and shopping festivals, collide with constrained memory chip supply.

Samsung is changing one of its most popular preorder offers. Instead of offering double storage at no extra cost, Samsung may cover only half of the storage price difference for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Fold 8, and Fold 8 Ultra.

What to expect in preorders?

Samsung is reportedly planning to subsidize only 50 percent of the price difference between the 256GB and 512GB models rather than offering the full storage upgrade for free to the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Fold 8, and Fold 8 Ultra buyers.

Samsung has not confirmed the report. A company official reportedly declined to comment on details surrounding the upcoming preorder promotion.

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Samsung’s free double storage promotion has become a familiar part of its flagship launches over the past few years. Introduced with the Galaxy S23 series in 2023, the offer allowed customers who preordered the 256GB model to receive the 512GB variant without paying the additional storage premium.

It continued across subsequent Galaxy S and Galaxy Z releases and was widely regarded as one of Samsung’s strongest preorder incentives. Meanwhile, the next move is driven by rising memory costs, although Samsung has yet to confirm the promotion.

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Why is Samsung reportedly scaling back the benefit?

Memory prices have climbed sharply over the past several quarters, increasing production costs for smartphone manufacturers. Industry estimates suggest prices rose by up to 50 percent during the fourth quarter of last year.

The new free storage promotion shift feels less like Samsung taking away a popular perk and more like the company trying to preserve it in a more sustainable form.

Covering half the upgrade cost is still better than eliminating the offer entirely, especially if memory prices remain elevated. Of course, buyers who have come to expect a completely free storage upgrade may see it differently.

Samsung dropped three new teasers linked to its upcoming Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 smartwatches. The clips highlight some of the newly added features to the watches, incorporated into a “comfortable design.”

The first teaser flaunts the top features of the new watch in a magnified view. This includes features like AI health monitoring, health companion, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep apnea, personalized health coach, daily insights, comfortable design, and more.

The second teaser puts the revamped user interface with richer graphics on display. With this, Samsung is showcasing something like tracking your all-day activities and presenting an overall outcome at the end of the day.

The third teaser shows an enhanced heart rate monitoring feature. The waveform now appears better on the display, with a heart rate indicator showing the number of beats per minute on the upper side, tagged with a heart emoji.

Galaxy Watch works continuously in the background, making comprehensive healthcare a seamless part of your daily routine. Powered by all-new internal components and enhanced battery life, the upcoming Watch is built to track your health for longer and with greater accuracy.

Last week, Samsung released a series of teasers focused on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The company is aggressively highlighting the “re-shape,” which refers to the new aspect ratio of the upcoming foldable smartphone.

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A recent leak revealed that the upcoming Galaxy Watch models are getting a price increase. Meanwhile, Samsung has some decent upgrades, including the use of the Snapdragon Wear Elite flagship chip rather than Exynos.

Samsung will unveil the new Watches alongside new foldable phones on July 22 in London.

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Samsung’s future foldable roadmap may be changing. A new report suggests that Samsung could delay its second TriFold foldable phone for an early launch of a Slidable phone with rollable display technology.

A new report from a Korean leaker suggests the Galaxy Z TriFold 2 is now likely to miss its originally expected launch window due to cost-related challenges tied to its redesigned hinge.

At the same time, Samsung’s long-rumored slidable smartphone is reportedly progressing faster than anticipated and could debut earlier than previous rumors suggested, signaling a possible shift in the company’s priorities.

Samsung is still developing the second-gen Galaxy Z TriFold with a new hinge design. The project has reportedly encountered cost-related hurdles, making it increasingly likely that the device will be pushed beyond its initial launch schedule.

Samsung’s rumored slidable phone has gained momentum and is now expected to launch sooner. While there is still no official timeline, the latest claim hints that Samsung may prioritize bringing a new form factor to market.

Delaying the Galaxy Z TriFold 2 to perfect a new hinge would be a sensible decision if it delivers meaningful improvements instead of minor refinements.

Samsung has already established itself as the leader in commercial foldables, so rushing another premium device to market simply to meet a timeline may not offer much benefit.

At the same time, if the slidable phone is genuinely nearing launch, Samsung could have an opportunity to showcase a completely different direction for mobile hardware while the TriFold continues to mature behind the scenes.