Android Phone Prices May Soar in 2025 Due to Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Chip

TLDR: Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip prices may significantly increase in 2025, potentially leading to more expensive Android flagship phones. The chip uses a 3nm process, new Oryon CPU, and an updated NPU, but the price impact remains uncertain.

As if inflation isn’t already hitting groceries and housing hard enough, your smartphone could also become pricier in 2025. A post on Weibo suggests that the cost of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, expected to power most 2025 flagship Android phones, is set to rise significantly, along with the price of the SM8750 wafer used in its production.

Potential Price Hike and Its Impact

While there’s no hard figure on what “significant” means, even a 10% or 20% jump could lead to a higher MSRP when it’s time to buy your next Android flagship phone. However, this isn’t entirely certain, as price increases during production don’t always get passed on to consumers.

Flagship phone prices are already pushing the limits of what buyers are willing to spend, with top-tier Android and Apple models reaching $1,000-$1,200. It’s difficult to imagine consumers being willing to pay much more.

Unfortunately, prices tend to be “sticky,” meaning once they go up, they rarely come back down. If we do see a price hike to accommodate the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, it may become the new norm.

Context and Potential Reasons for Price Increase

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was 25% more expensive than the previous-gen chip, but only some phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, saw a price increase. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and OnePlus 12 maintained their prices despite the more expensive chip.

The price increase is likely due to the 3nm process TSMC is adopting. The chip is also confirmed to use the new Oryon CPU and an updated neural processing unit, which may translate into significant performance increases. The Snapdragon X Elite, which has the same CPU, has already beaten Apple’s M3 MacBook Air in some benchmarks and app emulation.

Uncertainty Remains

Nothing is confirmed yet. With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 set to launch in October, hard price figures are unlikely to be available until a few months from now. Even then, it’ll be at least one or two more months before the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 devices hit the market.

Only time will tell.