It looks like the premium Android phone market will get even more expensive by 2025, so if the high price tags of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the OnePlus 11, and other top Android smartphones surprise you, get ready for some bad news.
You might wonder, why 2025? That’s the year that most smartphones sporting the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset—anticipated to be released in the latter part of 2019—will go on sale. The problem is that Qualcomm, the semiconductor industry leader, anticipates that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will cost more, which they justify by citing their goal of providing a chipset with unmatched performance.
The price increase’s precise magnitude is still unknown, but it implies that consumers may bear the extra expenses.
Having an Effect on Many Phones
With Qualcomm’s track record of widely adopted chipsets, this regrettable discovery will certainly affect many phones. Expect many more phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 series (in some territories), the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the OnePlus 13, and the Xiaomi 15 range, to come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor.
But there will probably be some outliers. For example, the Google Pixel 10 series may have a customized Tensor chipset, while the iPhone 17 line may use Apple’s 2025 unique mobile chipset or the A19 Pro.
Furthermore, considering Samsung’s history of combining Snapdragon and Exynos chips, some markets may see the release of Samsung Galaxy S25 variants with Exynos chipsets. If the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 stays significantly higher, this mixture may further lean towards Exynos.
For now, several of the best smartphones of the upcoming year, such as the Samsung Galaxy S24, will be running on the recently released Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. But this won’t come with the major cost increase expected for the Gen 4, providing buyers on a tight budget with a little reprieve.
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