Qualcomm is expected to switch to its custom Oryon cores when it officially announces the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. A company executive claimed that the flagship SoC would be unveiled in October, making it the first silicon from the San Diego firm to transition to in-house CPU designs completely.
However, this shift could cost Qualcomm’s partners a hefty sum, as one tipster claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be expensive, and phone makers will have to evaluate the overall configuration of their devices to sell them at competitive prices.
Tipster also mentions that Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s wafer price will also increase, likely referring to TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process Like Apple’s M4 and possibly the A18 Pro, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may utilize TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, also known as ‘N3E.’ This would be the first time in history that the company will leverage any foundry’s 3nm technology, and while that will result in improvements in all areas, it will increase production costs.
As stated by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s wafer price is rumored to increase, which would automatically affect how expensive the SoC will be. Related Story Qualcomm May Increase Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Clock Speeds Only To Gain An Advantage In Geekbench Against Apple; SoC May Not Deliver Real-World BenefitsHowever, this is not the first time that we have heard that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be more expensive than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
On a previous occasion, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President Chris Patrick hinted that the silicon’s price would be raised thanks to the adoption of in-house Oryon cores.