Once upon a time, Qualcomm was the clear king when it came to mobile chipsets. Their dominance in the mobile SoC space stemmed from there, with consumers pushing aside Exynos models from Samsung because we all knew how much more a Snapdragon chip brought to the table.
Things aren’t like that anymore, with competition being tougher than ever, especially from MediaTek’s flagship chips. However, Qualcomm’s Snapdragons still have the public’s heart. An insistence to stick with those chips could mean higher pricing for the upcoming S25 series. When you look at it, there’s no better time for Samsung to embrace MediaTek.
The Price Of A Snapdragon 8 Elite Chip Could Mean That The S25 Series See A Price Hike
Samsung’s flagship phones are expensive, though not particularly more expensive than flagships from competing manufacturers. However, the last thing that consumers want is for Samsung’s phones to somehow get even more expensive. Unfortunately, that’s what an insistence on using Snapdragon chips could potentially lead to.
Look, I understand that most consumers who want to buy an S series Samsung device want the very best in every category, and a Snapdragon chip fits that bill. However, in 2025, it could mean that Samsung will take the higher-priced Snapdragon 8 Elite and transfer the price of that chip to consumers. That could mean a potential $50, or even $100, price hike. A starting price of $1,400 for the S25 Ultra would be eye-watering.
This stems from the Snapdragon 8 Elite costing a rumored $190 per chip. The price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was never made official but it seems to be agreed that the newer chip is notably more costly.
This presents the perfect opportunity to talk about MediaTek. It was rumored previously that the S25 series would consider using MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 due to the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s high price and low yield for the Exynos 2500, but over time, that rumor vanished into thin air.
It does make us wonder, regardless: could Samsung switching over to MediaTek’s flagship chips be a big win for both it and the consumer? The Dimensity 9400 was supposedly less expensive than Qualcomm’s chip and while the Snapdragon is generally superior in performance, the difference is far from monumental—you’re very unlikely to notice it, even with more demanding applications.
If the S25 does end up coming out with a higher price tag, it means there’s a world where the Dimensity 9400 could have provided comparable performance without the price tag needing to get heavier. Maybe that future might come; the OEM has already switched to MediaTek in its premium tablets.
MediaTek’s Upcoming Dimensity 9500 Could Have A 4GHz Clock Speed
And just to bolster the fact that MediaTek really wouldn’t be the death of “good performance” in the S series, the upcoming MediaTek Dimensity 9500 has been rumored to have a clock speed up to 4GHz, according to Digital Chat Station. That’s something that we’ve never seen before with any smartphone chip, demonstrating that MediaTek is hardly the uncompetitive chip maker that many deem them to be.
