The Samsung Galaxy S25 and other 2025 phones could be exceptionally expensive

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All thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4

Samsung Galaxy S23 screen
The Samsung Galaxy S23 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

If you thought the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the OnePlus 11, and the other best Android phones were expensive, we’ve got some bad news for you – it looks like the top Androids are only going to get more pricey in 2025.

Why 2025? Well, because that’s when most phones running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 – which will probably be announced late next year – will launch, and this could be Qualcomm’s most expensive mobile chipset yet.

This is according to Qualcomm SVP Chris Patrick, who claimed (via SamMobile) that Qualcomm expects the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will have a price increase, as the company will be attempting to deliver a chipset with “astonishing levels of performance.”

Exactly how much more expensive this chipset will be isn’t known, but any price rise could well be passed on to consumers.

Lots of phones will be affected

That’s unfortunate, because based on past form a huge number of phones will probably use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S25 series (in at least some regions), the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the OnePlus 13, the Xiaomi 15 line, and many others.

Notable exceptions to this will likely include the Google Pixel 10 series (if Googles 2025 phone gets called that), which is likely to use a custom Tensor chipset. And of course the iPhone 17 line, which will presumably use the A19 Pro, or whatever Apple calls its 2025 mobile chipset.

Some regions may also get Samsung Galaxy S25 models that use Exynos chipsets instead, as Samsung often uses a mix of Snapdragon and Exynos – and may well increase the number that use Exynos if the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is a lot higher.

In the meantime, we’ve got the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was recently announced and is set to power many of next year’s best phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S24, but seemingly without the big price increase that’s expected for the 8 Gen 4.

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James Rogerson
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.