According to the latest reports, Samsung will inevitably increase the prices of its high-end Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S26 series.
Qualcomm is reportedly charging $190 for each Snapdragon 8 Elite application processor (AP). The chip will power the high-end Galaxy S25 series, which is expected to launch next month. This could result in a price increase for the high-end smartphone .
Illustration photo.
This will be the first Snapdragon AP to be manufactured using TSMC's 3nm process, and there's also a chance that TSMC will raise the price to build the SoC. Rumors have it that the foundry will raise the price of its advanced 3nm/5nm process chips by 10% next year due to demand for AI-related chips.
In addition to Samsung typically using its own Exynos 2500 chip on most Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ models outside the US, Canada, and China, Samsung Foundry also failed to achieve 3nm production above 70% of the required yield.
With Samsung Foundry's 3nm yield expected to be in the 20-30% range, the company will need to use a lot of expensive silicon wafers to produce enough Exynos 2500 chips to meet the volume for its 2025 Galaxy lineup. As a result, the Exynos 2500 AP will not be used in the Galaxy S25 series, although Samsung hopes to use the chip in the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy z Flip FE.
Galaxy S24 trio.
So this year, Samsung is expected to integrate the Snapdragon 8 Elite AP into all versions of the Galaxy S25 series. Therefore, it is difficult for the company to avoid increasing the price. In return, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is rated quite powerful with 2 Prime cores running at 4.32 GHz and 6 performance cores running at 3.53 GHz. MediaTek has successfully eliminated the performance core with the Dimensity 9300 and Dimensity 9400.
Samsung will also have to make a tough decision on pricing for the Galaxy S26 series in 2026 if the Exynos 2600 chip encounters similar issues. Previously, low yields on Samsung Foundry's 4nm process forced Qualcomm to shift production of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to TSMC under the new name Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
So Samsung Foundry is under pressure to fix its yield issues, which has cost Samsung the opportunity to produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. As of the third quarter of this year, TSMC had a 64% market share in the contract chip foundry industry, while Samsung Foundry had just 12%.
