Could smartphones get even more expensive? 2nm flagship chips reportedly top $200

The transition to TSMC's 2nm manufacturing process could prove costly for smartphone manufacturers and/or their customers. According to Taiwanese business publication TaiSounds (in Chinese), citing supply chain sources, MediaTek's new Dimensity 9600 Pro could cost up to $220 per unit. This would push the chip past the $200 mark for the first time and set a new price record for a flagship SoC from MediaTek.

For comparison, the previous flagship Dimensity 9500 was estimated to cost between $180 and $200 in earlier industry reports (in Chinese). Importantly, neither the price of the Dimensity 9600 Pro nor that of its predecessor is an officially confirmed list price. MediaTek generally does not disclose such pricing, especially since purchase prices depend on individual agreements with smartphone manufacturers and can vary considerably.

Nevertheless, smartphone manufacturers apparently face a significant price increase. As initial Dimensity 9600 Pro benchmarks show, this may not come with a substantial performance boost, but it does at least appear to bring notable efficiency improvements.

Snapdragon and Apple A20 Pro reportedly even more expensive

The Dimensity 9600 Pro isn't the only 2nm chip with a hefty price tag. In fact, it apparently is the cheapest option. According to TaiSounds, rival Qualcomm is pricing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro at between $240 and $260. The report also puts Apple's A20 Pro at around $260.

This could mean that the most important flagship chips of the upcoming smartphone generation will all cost more than $200 for the first time. Whether manufacturers will pass the higher costs directly on to customers remains to be seen. In any case, pricing pressure on Apple, Samsung and others is likely to increase further with the next generation.