Samsung’s top phones are already expensive, but its 2025 handsets could be even pricier if they use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, as at least some of them are expected to.
Qualcomm, which makes Snapdragon chipsets, has itself previously said to expect the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 to cost more than the Gen 3, and now we have an idea of how much more, with reputable leaker @UniverseIce claiming (via NotebookCheck) that it will cost $240 (around £185 / AU$360).
That’s apparently a 20.68% price increase compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, amounting to about $40 (roughly £30 / AU$60) more.
And there’s no reason to think that such an increase wouldn’t be passed on to consumers, which could mean higher prices for not just the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, but also the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, and numerous other Android phones, including devices from OnePlus, Sony, Xiaomi, and more.
Lots of factors affect the price
Still, there are a few things to bear in mind here. For a start, this news isn’t confirmed just yet, so we’d take it with a pinch of salt. Also, a lot of factors affect the pricing of a phone, so while this is worrying news, it’s possible that other factors could help to keep the price down.
Plus, brands like Samsung that sell enormous numbers of phones might be able to negotiate better pricing for the chipset.
There’s also a chance that companies could turn to other chipsets if the price is too high. Samsung already equips some of its phones with the company’s own Exynos chipset, including often Galaxy S flagships in some regions, and then there’s MediaTek, which we’d previously heard Samsung might turn to for chipsets.
Still, if this leak is correct then there’s a real chance that quite a lot of 2025’s best Android phones will be at least a little more expensive than current models.
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