Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Price Concerns Surface, Prompting Smartphone Manufacturers to Reconsider Configurations

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may be close to release, and it might be the first to make exclusive use of the company’s Oryon cores. An executive of the company said the SoC would be announced in October, implying that Qualcomm would entirely switch to in-house CPU designs.

However, this might come at a significant price to the company’s associates. The sources say that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be expensive for many phone manufacturers, and they may have to reduce some device elements to control the prices.

More About Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Price Concerns

Like the M4 by Apple, and the A18 Pro probably, Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will run on the second generation of TSMC’s 3nm process, or N3E. Qualcomm’s adoption of various foundry’s 3nm technology could increase wafer prices. It is said to represent the first time Qualcomm has used the 3nm technology of any foundry, and although it boosts performance in a variety of ways, it also increases the production cost. While the price of the wafer with a 3nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 on it is expected to skyrocket, that is not the only thing that produces its price surge.

That is not the first time this rumor has been expressed; previously, Chris Patrick inferred that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could turn out to be costlier. He further hinted that the Oryon core was made in-house, so it was pretty logical to expect Qualcomm to utilize the latest CPU core for the first time in a few years, resulting in a rise in the price of the core. Recently, the tipster also informed phone manufacturers to watch out for extra costs, and they all ran rumors suggesting exorbitant pricing of around 3,000 yuan.

For context, Xiaomi released the K70 Pro last year as one of the most budget-friendly Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 flagships. However, even Xiaomi might struggle to maintain the same pricing for the K70 Pro’s successor if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 drives up costs. It’s worth noting that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 already costs Qualcomm’s partners $200, making it a pricey component. With its successor expected to be even costlier, manufacturers may face pressure to aggressively adjust their profit margins to meet annual shipment targets.

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