Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 price estimate signals bad news for affordable flagship phones

Qualcomm has a track record of increasing the prices of its latest offerings. The last-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite, for example, was at least 10% pricier than the 8 Gen 3 for manufacturers. As for the newly released Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it can reportedly cost up to $280.

This cost per unit comes from industry estimates, and it's worth noting that the pricing can vary from one OEM to another, depending on the contracts that they have with Qualcomm. It also depends on the order volumes, as higher orders could potentially lower the cost per unit. This estimate doesn't consider the royalty fees as well.

What's more important is that the flagship SoCs from Qualcomm are seeing a growing trend in terms of price. Of course, the price hike on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 isn't entirely on Qualcomm, as the chip maker reportedly paid 24% more than before for the N3P node to TSMC. That report suggested that the wafer prices went up way before the official announcements were made.

Seeing this growing trend, it's quite safe to expect the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 to cost more than $300. Such a high price tag would eventually increase the prices of the flagship phones even further, and it would be hard for manufacturers to introduce affordable flagships (Chinese OnePlus 13T curr. $509.38 on TradingShenzhen).

On the bright side, Samsung has reportedly begun producing 2 nm SoCs for Qualcomm, and early samples were reportedly sent for evaluation. If things go well, the chipmaker may have a proper secondary option if TSMC's 2 nm wafers become absurdly pricey.