Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC costs more than the A16 Bionic chip

When it comes to performance on devices, processors play a massive role and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC stands out. This smartphone processor doesn’t only stand out in terms of performance but also its cost. Recent reports point out that this processor costs more than the Apple A16 Bionic chip in use on the iPhone 14 Pro series.

Snapdragon processors including the 8 Gen 2 are used on a wide range of Android flagship devices. To get this processor for usage on their flagship devices, manufacturers will need to purchase it from Qualcomm, the maker of the chip. This purchase will cost the smartphone manufacturer some money, but the price of this processor might surprise you.

The price for purchasing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor is more than the price to build a rival option. In this context, the rival is the Apple A16 Bionic chip, and building it costs less than the price of purchasing the Snapdragon chip. Is this an issue that the Android community needs to be wary of, or is it simply how things are?

Here is why the price of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC is raising concerns

You might already be wondering how much the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC costs to purchase. Well, this flagship-level processor costs over $160 per unit to purchase for smartphone manufacturers. Undoubtedly, manufacturing that processor costs much less than that price, as the actual cost price for smartphone manufacturers is dependent on other factors.

One such major factor affecting the cost price is the profit that Qualcomm aims to make. But the manufacturing cost of the rival Apple A16 Bionic chip is $110 per unit, and this discrepancy is attracting a ton of attention. Apple doesn’t need to sell its chip to any manufacturer, as it is exclusively for Apple devices.

For this reason, there is no cost price for the Bionic chips, just manufacturing costs as they aren’t sold. But this doesn’t negate the fact that Qualcomm retails the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC to manufacturers $50 more expensive than Apple’s chip. Both chips are the current generations from Qualcomm and Apple, offering great performance.

Qualcomm’s chip is on the high side pushing smartphone manufacturers to increase the price of their devices. This price increment makes the devices a bit more expensive than previous generations. Buyers of flagship devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC will feel the effect of Qualcomm’s pricing of their processor during purchase.