Qualcomm is gearing up for a significant change with the soon-to-be-released Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which is scheduled for an official unveiling in October. This new SoC will incorporate custom-designed Oryon cores, showcasing Qualcomm’s in-house CPU designs. However, this move towards greater independence could potentially increase costs for smartphone manufacturers.
Like Apple’s M-series chips, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is rumored to employ TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm process technology (N3E). This marks Qualcomm’s first use of 3nm technology in its SoCs, which is expected to enhance performance and efficiency, and also raise production costs.
This information comes from Weibo insider Digital Chat Station, who reported that the wafer price for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 has gone up, affecting the overall cost of the SoC.
This price increase isn’t surprising. Qualcomm had already indicated that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 might come at a higher price due to the integration of Oryon cores.
Such a price hike could trigger a ripple effect in the smartphone market. As the cost of the chip goes up, manufacturers may need to adjust their devices’ specifications to keep prices competitive.
This change will affect flagship killer phones the most, which try to keep their prices down despite featuring high-end chips, like the Redmi K series. The Redmi K70 Pro is one of the most affordable phones on the market with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, but its successor may not be able to do the same with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Even the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was an expensive chip for smartphone makers, meaning the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could be a tough choice for OEMs as they would have to either sacrifice their profit margins or raise the prices of their beloved smartphones.
