Procurement Cost of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chip to Exceed $160
Procurement Cost of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chip to Exceed $160
Procurement Cost of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chip to Exceed $160
Qualcomm’s latest move with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip seems to be putting partners, including Samsung, in a tight spot. Reports suggest that Qualcomm charged partners $160 for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and unfortunately, the situation might not improve with the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, as indications point toward an even higher price for the latest iteration.
Several of Qualcomm’s partners could find themselves in a dilemma, with limited options to cut costs by either sticking with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or shifting to MediaTek’s Dimensity series.
The shift to TSMC’s 4nm N4P process for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a costly endeavor.
However, the drawbacks of Qualcomm’s reliance on Samsung foundries for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 launch, along with ensuing criticism, have been witnessed.
While specific chip pricing isn’t explicitly mentioned, it’s indicated that smartphone manufacturers will face a crossroads.
They can either save costs by downgrading to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for future product releases, or opt for MediaTek’s product.
MediaTek is also launching a flagship SoC, the Dimensity 9300, based on TSMC’s N4P architecture.
MediaTek might offer its smartphone partners a lower price for flagship chips, potentially narrowing profit margins.
However, this business strategy shift could grant them more business than Qualcomm.
That said, challenging Qualcomm’s market dominance and associated value isn’t a straightforward task, given the recognizability of the Snapdragon brand among consumers.
However, the Dimensity 9300 boasts an advantage currently absent in other smartphone SoCs: support for faster LPDDR5T memory.
Additionally, its unique CPU configuration (four Cortex-X4 cores) might outperform the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in multi-threaded benchmark tests, but the chipset might lose to the competition in the efficiency battle.
Even if Qualcomm were to charge $200 per unit for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, major players in the smartphone industry such as Samsung and Xiaomi would likely persist in offering top-tier Android smartphone hardware to customers, even if it means eating into their profits in the long run.
