A recent leak from the trusted tech source Digital Chat Station (DCS) indicates that the upcoming flagship processors from Qualcomm and MediaTek may be priced higher than anticipated.
Reasons for Price Increase
This increase is attributed to TSMC’s costly N3E manufacturing process, which will be utilized in both Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (or 8 Elite, depending on the final name) and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400. The leak suggests a price rise of approximately 20% compared to earlier models.
Projected Costs for Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Dimensity 9400
Due to this price increase, the Dimensity 9400 is expected to be priced around $155, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could cost about $190. Although chip makers usually keep their pricing private, a 20% rise implies that last year's flagship Dimensity 9300 should have been priced at approximately $124, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would be around $152.
Previous Predictions and Market Trends
This is not the first indication of escalating costs for upcoming chips. In June, industry analyst Min-Chu Kuo forecasted an even larger increase, suggesting a hike of 25-30%, which is higher than DCS's estimate. Additionally, tipster Ice Universe has indicated a 20.68% price increase for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which aligns more closely with DCS's projections. Regardless of the exact figures, several reports confirm that both flagship SoCs will experience a price rise this year.
If manufacturers are indeed facing higher costs for these essential components, it's likely that they will pass these expenses onto consumers. Consequently, consumers should prepare for pricier flagship phones from various brands this year and into 2025.
Innovations Justifying the Costs
As for whether the increased pricing is warranted, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is set to introduce significant advancements this year. This new SoC will be Qualcomm’s first to feature in-house Oryon cores, and initial benchmarks indicate a considerable performance enhancement.
On the other hand, MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 will utilize ARM’s most powerful Cortex-X925 core, achieving the highest AnTuTu benchmark score ever recorded for an Android device recently.
