Last month we told you that the Galaxy Watch 7 could feature a 3nm chip which would make it the first Samsung device to be powered by a chip produced using the 3nm process node. According to the Korea Economic Daily (via TrendForce), this appears to be more than a rumor although some of the specifics have changed. Samsung Foundry will start production using its second-gen 3nm process node during the second half of the year.
The first 3nm chip to be produced by the foundry will be the Exynos W1000 application processor (AP) which will power the Galaxy Watch 7. The timepiece is expected to be released in July. Last year’s Galaxy Watch 6 featured a 5nm Exynos W930 SoC and last month’s report originally called the 3nm chipset earmarked for the Galaxy Watch 7 the Exynos W940. Now, of course, the chip will supposedly be called the Exynos W1000.
The Google Watch 6 was powered by the 5nm Exynos W930 SoC
According to sources, the Exynos W1000 will deliver a 20% increase in performance and power efficiency. As the process node number gets smaller, the size of the transistors used with the chip reduces which allows more of them to fit inside the component. A higher transistor count will generally lead to higher performance and/or more power efficiency.
The Exynos W1000 will help the Galaxy Watch 7 compete against the Apple Watch Series 9 when it comes to performance and battery life. The latter is powered by the S9 SiP (System in Package) AP which reportedly has similarities to the A16 SoC and is built on TSMC’s 4nm process node. Samsung, with a 20% share of the global smartwatch market as of Q3 of last year, is trying to close the gap with Apple whose smartwatches hold a leading 45% share of the worldwide smartwatch market.
Samsung is expected to hold its next Unpacked event on July 10th in Paris which is where the Summer Olympics will be held starting July 26th. Samsung hopes to use the media attention that the Olympics get to promote the new devices it will unveil on July 10th which should include the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Galaxy Ring, and the Galaxy Watch 7.
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