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 was sold for $200.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Reason for price increase
One of the main reasons for the price increase of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is the increase in silicon wafer manufacturing costs. TSMC, the company that manufactures chips for Qualcomm, uses the second-generation 3nm (N3E) process to manufacture these chips. This is also the first time a flagship Snapdragon chip is manufactured on the 3nm process. The price of silicon wafers has increased significantly, from $15,000 to $30,000, making the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 more expensive to manufacture.
However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4's rival is the Dimensity 9400, a new chip from MediaTek, also manufactured by TSMC on the same second-generation 3nm process but priced at just $155. This price difference has created a huge competition in the high-end mobile chip market.
Samsung and the possibility of 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, rather than continuing to rely on Snapdragon or its own Exynos line. This stems from yield issues at Samsung Foundry when manufacturing on the 3nm process, making the Exynos 2500 difficult to compete.
The Price Difference Between Qualcomm and Apple
Another notable point is the price Apple paid for its A18 Pro chip, which is also manufactured by TSMC on the 3nm N3E process. According to TD Cowan, the A18 Pro chip, used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, costs just $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 chip.
The main reason for this difference is that Qualcomm has to sell Snapdragon chips to many different manufacturers, while Apple makes its own chips for its devices, cutting out some of the middleman costs.
Qualcomm develops its own CPU core
Another factor contributing to the price increase of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is that Qualcomm has developed its own CPU cores for this chip instead of continuing to use Cortex CPU cores from Arm as before. The process of developing and commercializing these CPU cores has created additional costs, and Qualcomm needs to increase the price to recover 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 to 23 in Hawaii. This event promises to bring 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
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