Qualcomm is on the cusp of a significant shift with the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Set for an October reveal, this flagship SoC boasts in-house designed Oryon CPU cores, marking a move towards greater independence. However, this autonomy might come at a premium for smartphone manufacturers.
Mirroring Apple’s M-series chips, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to leverage TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm process (N3E). While this promises performance and efficiency gains, it also translates to higher production costs. Weibo leakster Digital Chat Station confirms this, revealing an increase in the wafer price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, directly impacting the final cost of the chip.
This price hike aligns with earlier hints from Qualcomm itself. The company previously suggested a higher price point for the Gen 4 due to the Oryon cores. This dominoes into the smartphone market. With a pricier chip, phone makers face a tightrope walk – maintaining competitive pricing by potentially sacrificing other phone features.
For instance, the prior year’s Redmi K70 Pro, powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, was a budget-friendly flagship. But achieving a similar price point for its successor with the costlier Gen 4 could prove difficult for manufacturers like Xiaomi. Notably, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 itself wasn’t cheap, reportedly costing around $200 per unit. A further increase puts phone makers in a bind, forcing them to potentially raise consumer prices or squeeze their profit margins.