Qualcomm will be among the first companies, alongside Apple and MediaTek, to unveil the industry’s first 2nm chipset, though, like the iPhone maker, the San Diego firm is expected to launch two versions, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Given that TSMC’s next-generation manufacturing process will be significantly more expensive than its 3nm ‘N3P’ node at $30,000 per wafer, we can estimate that the SoC will be pricier for Qualcomm’s partners; the only question is, by how much? Here, we discuss what smartphone manufacturers are expected to pay for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro.
Viewing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 price, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro should easily cross $300, with rising DRAM and NAND prices making things even more difficult for phone makers
The Snapdragon 8 Elite marked the very first time that Qualcomm ditched ARM’s CPU designs for its in-house Oryon cores, which is why the company felt the liberty to upcharge its customers. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 improved upon those Oryon cores designs, leveraging the third-generation architecture to deliver even better performance and efficiency.
Unfortunately, Qualcomm’s partners were forced to fork over an estimated $280 apiece for one of these bad boys. Although the final figure depends on individual contracts, volume, and other factors, it is no secret that these chipsets are slowly getting expensive to the point that they are priced out of the comfort zone of several phone makers.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro will likely serve as the tipping point of that aforementioned comfort zone, as an earlier rumor claimed that while the top five Android smartphone manufacturers have opted to employ this SoC, it will only be used in their most premium offerings, meaning that the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 should make up the majority of shipments.
We also need to mention that countless rumors have mentioned that Qualcomm and MediaTek will switch to TSMC’s 2nm ‘N2P’ process instead of N2 to have adequate shipments and to have an edge against Apple’s A20 and A20 Pro in reaching a higher CPU frequency. Given that the N2P variant brings a modicum of improvement over N2, we should expect TSMC to charge more.
Unfortunately, that’s bad news for Qualcomm’s phone partners, and although we don’t have a clue what the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro will cost, looking at the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s price, we expect it to easily cross $300, with each unit predicted to cost $320. Of course, the SoC could be more expensive or affordable, depending on various circumstances, but let readers have a shot in the poll below and decide what Qualcomm’s top-end 2nm silicon will cost when it launches later this year.
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