Qualcomm Technologies, the company behind the Snapdragon platform that powers several Android devices is tipped to increase the price of its next generation flagship platform, the Snapdragon 875 by over 60%. According to a forum post on Clien, a South Korean message board, Xiaomi has reportedly received a price tag of US$250 for a Snapdragon 875 “set.” Qualcomm had previously charged smartphone makers US$150 to US$160 for the Snapdragon 865 “set.” The new leaks suggest that the smartphone makers will have to spend around 60% more for the Qualcomm's 2021 flagship platform.
Snapdragon 875 Pricing Leak Suggests Flagship Devices Could Be Less Affordable
Further, the forum post suggests that Xiaomi is under intense debate on the amount that it is willing to pay for Qualcomm's upcoming product.
In recent years, Qualcomm flagship products include several integrated components which the company says would reduce the bill of materials (BoM) for a smartphone maker. The integrated components of a flagship Snapdragon “set” includes 5G mmWave, RF front end and Wi-Fi 6 modules. The smartphone makers traditionally partner with multiple players for different components of a device, however, the integrated “set” tends to eliminate the need for multiple vendors.
Additionally, the forum post said that Qualcomm had priced the Snapdragon 875 chipset at US$130 as compared to US$80 for the Snapdragon 865 chipset. In March, Qualcomm said that the Snapdragon 865 platform powers “more than 70 announced or in-development designs.” The devices include Xiaomi Mi 10 Series, Oppo Find X2 and the OnePlus 8 series.
It has to be noted that the smartphone brands tend to pass on the added costs to the consumers bill.
Qualcomm Set to Unveil Snapdragon 865+
While Qualcomm has not set a launch date for the unveiling of the Snapdragon 875 platform, tipster Ice Universe on Friday announced that the Snapdragon 865+ platform will debut in July. The tipster on Weibo said that the new platform will power all flagships set to be launched in the second half of 2020.
