At the heart of every smart device lies a processor that governs its entire operation. MediaTek has consistently been a key player among companies that manufacture this essential component. It has always been at the forefront of driving innovation in the space, aiming to elevate the power of smart technology to a new level. The company recently announced that it is among the first companies to collaborate with TSMC to develop a new chip using the enhanced N2P process, enabling the fabrication of its flagship SoC.
For context, TSMC introduced the world's first N2 fabrication technology in April 2025. This technology is the first to utilise gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors, which are hailed as a significant improvement over its previous FinFET technology. With this transition, the company successfully increased transistor density by 1.15 times.
As a result, it has essentially paved the way for companies to pack as many transistors as possible without increasing the size of their chips.
Given the small size of these new transistors, various new processors, including the one from MediaTek, are projected to require less power for the same task, marking a clear step up in efficiency compared with chips built on TSMC's earlier N3E process.
As smaller transistors produce less heat, the likelihood of a thermal bottleneck decreases significantly. Additionally, these transistors are closer to each other than their larger counterparts, allowing the electric signal to travel faster. Both these scenarios provide processors enough headroom to perform faster. If we go by MediaTek's word, we can expect an 18 percent increase in performance at the same power, an approximately 36 percent power reduction at the same speed, and a 1.2x increase in logic density.
Considering the advantages of the newer fabrication technology, it is undeniable to expect that the upcoming MediaTek processor, based on TSMC's 2nm process, will set a new benchmark for performance. That being said, we may have to potentially wait till late 2026 to experience the phones powered by this processor.
However, MediaTek is not the only one which would reap the benefits of this delicious 2nm fabrication process. A month ago, Samsung announced that it is in line to launch the Exynos 2600 processor, based on its 2nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) process, by January 2026. And, this processor is expected to debut with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series. While the exact details are still under wraps but it is likely that one or more devices in this lineup will come with this new chip.
So every tech nerd should be better prepared, as the upcoming war between every smartphone later in 2026 will be an all-out showdown for 2 nm supremacy, with MediaTek, Samsung, and others racing to outdo each other in speed and efficiency.
