The Galaxy S25 Ultra's top-of-the-line chipset.

According to leaked information, the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could range from $190 to $240, depending on the source. This means that the price of this new chip will be about 20% higher than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which sold for $200.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

Reasons for the price increase

One of the main reasons for the price increase of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is the rise in silicon wafer manufacturing costs. TSMC, the chip manufacturer for Qualcomm, uses the second-generation 3nm (N3E) process to produce these chips. This also marks the first time a flagship Snapdragon chip has been manufactured using the 3nm process. The price of silicon wafers has increased significantly, from $15,000 to $30,000, making the production cost of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 much more expensive.

However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4's competitor is the Dimensity 9400, a new chip from MediaTek, also manufactured by TSMC using the same second-generation 3nm process but priced at only $155. This price difference has created significant competition in the high-end mobile chip market.

Samsung and the potential for switching chip usage.

A hot rumor suggests that Samsung may use the Dimensity 9400 chip for the base model of the Galaxy S25 in most global markets, instead of continuing to rely on Snapdragon or its own Exynos line. This stems from productivity issues at Samsung Foundry when manufacturing on the 3nm process, making the Exynos 2500 less competitive.

The price difference between Qualcomm and Apple.

Another noteworthy point is the price Apple pays for its A18 Pro chip, also manufactured by TSMC using the 3nm N3E process. According to TD Cowan, the A18 Pro chip, used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, costs only $45 per unit, a 13% increase over the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro. Compared to the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, Qualcomm's chip is four to five times more expensive than Apple's A18 Pro.

The main reason for this difference is that Qualcomm has to sell Snapdragon chips to many different manufacturers, while Apple manufactures its own chips for its devices, which helps cut down on some intermediary costs.

Qualcomm develops its own CPU cores.

Another factor contributing to the price increase of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is that Qualcomm developed its own CPU cores for this chip instead of continuing to use Cortex CPU cores from Arm as before. The development and commercialization of these CPU cores created additional costs, and Qualcomm needed to raise prices to recoup some of these investments.

Release date

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to be officially launched by Qualcomm at the Snapdragon Summit, taking place from October 21-23 in Hawaii. This event promises to provide more detailed information about the performance and features of this flagship chipset.

Hung Nguyen (According to PhoneArena)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/snapdragon-8-gen-4-chipset-hang-dau-cua-galaxy-s25-ultra-post316140.html