Qualcomm is preparing for a big transition with Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which will be officially introduced in October. The new SoC will feature a custom CPU design with custom Orion cores. But the move to independence could come at a cost to smartphone makers.

Similar to Apple’s M series chips, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is said to use TSMC’s advanced 3nm (N3E) process. This will be the first time Qualcomm will use 3nm technology for its SoCs, and although this will deliver better performance and efficiency, it will lead to higher manufacturing costs.

This is according to a message from Weibo Digital Chat Station, which recently reported that the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipboard has increased, which will directly affect the final cost of the SoC.

Such a price increase would not be surprising. Qualcomm had previously hinted at a higher price for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 due to the use of Orion cores.

This price increase may create a domino effect in the smartphone market. When using a more expensive chip, phone manufacturers may need to think carefully about the overall configurations of their devices to keep prices competitive.

For example, last year, Redmi K70 Pro, based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, was one of the most affordable flagships. However, achieving a similar price for the more expensive Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and its successor may be difficult for companies like Xiaomi.

Even the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is not cheap for manufacturers, reportedly costing around $200 per unit. Further price increases for the 4th Generation could put phone makers in a difficult position, forcing them to choose between sacrificing profits or potentially increasing the final price for consumers.