Over time, the mobile phone market has observed a steady increase in the cost of top-tier models. With technological progression, the elements driving these smartphones, particularly their chipsets, evolve in complexity and sometimes in cost. This pattern could persist into the upcoming year, leading to a potential price surge for flagship devices in 2025 and beyond.
Samsung’s current leading model, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, is priced at a significant $1,199. But according toSamMobile, although there’s no sign of an increase for the soon-to-be-releasedGalaxy S24Ultra, the situation could differ for the Galaxy S25 lineup, primarily due to costlier chip components.
Samsung, which has been known to use both Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets in its Galaxy S lineup, went all in with Snapdragon for its Galaxy S23 series. However, the dynamics are expected to shift next year. The Galaxy S24 series is anticipated to feature both the Exynos 2400 and thejust-announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This diversification strategy appears to be Samsung’s attempt to maintain a balance in its sourcing and pricing strategy. If Qualcomm, one of the major chipset suppliers, decides to charge more, Samsung faces a dilemma: either absorb the increased costs, affecting its profit margins, or pass on the cost to consumers.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has major performance improvements and a familiar price structure, but its successor’s architecture improvements could come at a cost.
This potential price hike isn’t just baseless speculation. At its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm confirmed that its upcoming Snapdragon mobile chipsets in 2024 will incorporate the promisingOryon CPU architecture, so far only seen on the new Snapdragon X Elite. Developing custom cores is a costly affair. Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President, Chris Patrick, mentioned in a Q&A session that while custom CPU cores don’t necessarily have to be pricier, they do help strike a balance between power consumption, performance, and pricing. He further added that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to come with a cost increase as the company aims for “astonishing levels of performance.”
Android Authorityalso reported on this anticipated price surge, noting that other flagship Android phones like the Xiaomi 15 series could also see costs increase with this move. If companies like Samsung, and possibly others, face higher costs for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, they may need to optimize in other areas or think about increasing the cost of their premium phones. This not only affects the Galaxy S series but could also influence the pricing of other devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, given that Samsung’s foldable lineup relies exclusively on Snapdragon chipsets.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Samsung’s current top-of-the-line smartphone has a price to match — but with the way things are going, its $1,200 MSRP could seem cheap in a few years if Samsung keeps up with its practice of putting the absolute best Android SoC available into its ultra flagship.
