Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro To Be Out Of Reach For Many Of Qualcomm’s Partners, As 2nm Process Will Shoot Prices To Abnormal Levels
Wccftech • • technology
Key Points:
- Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset is rumored to cost over $300 per unit, making it significantly more expensive than its predecessor and likely limiting its adoption to only 'Ultra' flagship smartphones.
- The high cost is attributed to the transition to TSMC’s 2nm process, a faster GPU, increased L2 cache, and a 50% wider bus, alongside the ongoing DRAM shortage and expensive LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage components.
- The total Bill of Materials for premium smartphones using the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, LPDDR6 RAM, and UFS 5.0 storage could exceed $600, severely impacting manufacturers' profit margins.
- Qualcomm is expected to offer four chipset options this year, including a standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 with lower costs to encourage wider adoption amid supply challenges.
- The company appears to be shifting focus towards non-flagship chipsets to maintain revenue during the memory crisis while exploring other market categories to stay competitive.