Qualcomm ‘forcing’ Samsung to ask for higher smartphone prices

Samsung's next-gen Galaxy S25 flagship phones, expected to go on sale in early 2025, might be pricier than their predecessors. If that happens, it might not be Samsung's fault or a blatant decision from the company to hike prices and squeeze more money out of its customers.

As some of you may have heard earlier this summer, US-based chipmaker Qualcomm will increase the price of the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip. Early estimates said Qualcomm's SoC would suffer a 25-30% price increase.

Now, a recent report from Ice Universe on the Chinese social media network Weibo claims to have pinpointed exactly how much the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip will cost. And because the Galaxy S25 series will likely use this silicon, it may end up hitting the market for a higher price than the Galaxy S24 series.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 costs 20.68% more

According to the source, Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip costs $240, or 20.68% more than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The Gen 3 chip costs around $200.

The story continues after the video

There's no guarantee of what Samsung will do if Qualcomm's next chip is ~$40 more expensive than the last. But it's hard to imagine Samsung taking the brunt of the price hike.

Increasing the price of the Galaxy S25 series sounds more plausible, but perhaps Samsung could make up for this chip price increase through other clever means. But making the Galaxy S25 weaker (and cheaper) in other areas to mitigate the chip's higher cost would probably be a bad idea.

Regardless, if Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is indeed $40 pricier and if Samsung decides to bump the Galaxy S25's price to match Qualcomm's demands, it will be hard to blame Samsung for it. But we're hoping Samsung will come up with a solution. Time will tell.

Samsung should unveil the Galaxy S25 series in early 2025, and as usual, the lineup should consist of three phones. However, rumors say the Galaxy S25 Ultra will go through more significant aesthetic changes and leave the current design language behind.