TechPhonesAndroid PhonesAndroid phone prices could soon soar for just one reasonPrice of the brick goin' upWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechPhonesAndroid PhonesAndroid phone prices could soon soar for just one reasonPrice of the brick goin' upWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Price of the brick goin' up
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
Quick summaryAndroid phones might get a little pricier at the top-end.This is because the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is seemingly going to cost a chunk more than its predecessor.
Android phones might get a little pricier at the top-end.This is because the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is seemingly going to cost a chunk more than its predecessor.
Android phones might get a little pricier at the top-end.This is because the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is seemingly going to cost a chunk more than its predecessor.
Android phones might get a little pricier at the top-end.
This is because the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is seemingly going to cost a chunk more than its predecessor.
For years,Androidstood as a more affordable way to get cutting-edge features than sticking with the latestiPhone, but it’s fair to say that gap has either closed or disappeared.
Flagship Android phonesrival or even eclipseApple’s pricing all the time, for all that they bring the sort of new features that enthusiasts dream of, from hyper-zoom cameras to AI integrations. Now, though, they might be about to take another little jump in price, if reports are to be believed.
That doesn’t come completely out of the blue, since Qualcomm said that it expects the chip to be more expensive at its own summit recently, but the margin of increase is still a little off-putting. If it’s accurate, it’s hard to avoid the idea that this could knock on into increased prices for phones that use it.
It’s not just the Snapdragon, neither – a similar margin is apparently on the cards for the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 too, with the jump coming because of the increased costs of the 3nm manufacturing process.
To add to all that, this also lines up with noises coming from seasoned analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who reported earlier this year that a rise of 20-30% in price was very possible, if not likely. This leaves two avenues before major phone makers that use Qualcomm’s chips, of course.
One is the simple price rise that would keep them on the bleeding edge but pass on the cost to users. The other is to find ways to downgrade or cut costs in other areas, whether that means components or materials, to keep the price flat while accounting for the chip.
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We have no way of knowing what approach will be most popular, but it certainly looks possible that Android flagships might get more expensive as a result.
TOPICSAndroid
TOPICS
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