Samsung LSI's Price Gouging Pushes Exynos 2600 To $270/Unit, Forcing Samsung Mobile To Bank On Qualcomm For The Galaxy Z Flip 8
Wccftech • • technology
Key Points:
- Samsung LSI has significantly increased the price of its Exynos 2600 chip from $220 in December 2025 to $270 in May 2026, making it 17% more expensive than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which costs $230 per unit.
- In response to these price hikes, Samsung Mobile is reducing the use of the Exynos 2600 chip in the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 8 and increasing reliance on the more affordable Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip.
- The price increases are attributed to high costs of Samsung's 2nm GAA process, internal competition, and Samsung LSI's reluctance to lower prices despite limited contributions from Samsung Mobile.
- This shift is ironic because the Exynos 2600 is more power-efficient (16W TDP) compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (19W TDP), indicating Samsung Mobile is sacrificing efficiency due to internal pricing conflicts.
- Samsung Mobile has faced ongoing challenges from internal dynamics, including margin pressures from Samsung's semiconductor division and distributor backlash, which previously led to grey market leaks of Galaxy S26 Ultra units.