Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and D9400: the high-end chips of 2025 step up their game… and their price!
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (or Snapdragon 8 Elite) and MediaTek's Dimensity 9400 processors, which will soon equip flagship smartphones like the Xiaomi 15 and Vivo X200, promise increased performance.
However, these improvements come at a cost: according to information relayed by Digital Chat Station on the Chinese social network Weibowe should expect a price increase of around 20% compared to their predecessors, which can be explained by several factors.
An expensive new manufacturing process
These chips are produced using a 3-nanometer process, called N3E, which helps improve the power and efficiency of smartphones. This more advanced, but also more expensive, process is the main reason for this price increase. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (8 Elite) should cost around $190, and the Dimensity 9400 around $155.
Inflation and overall costs
The global surge in production and transportation costs is also affecting the technology industry. These increases are passed on to smartphone manufacturers, and consumers should therefore see the prices of future premium models expected in 2025 rise.
More expensive smartphones coming
Brands like Xiaomi and Vivo, which will use these processors, would therefore offer more expensive devices than previous models. Although the performance of its new SoCs should provide an improved experience, this represents an additional cost that consumers will undoubtedly have to take into account.
