Qualcomm will introduce its most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset later this year. New allegations from China suggest that Qualcomm is raising costs for this processor and will naturally pass them on to manufacturers. This could lead to astronomical prices for many flagship models to be released in 2024.
Dimensity 9300 could replace Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Qualcomm plans to implement price increases for Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is expected to be 30 percent more powerful. This will result in manufacturers either raising prices or switching to an alternative processor such as the MediaTek Dimensity 9300.
The Dimensity 9300 features an octa-core structure with 1 ultra-high performance Cortex-X3 core, 3 high-performance Cortex-A715 cores and 4 power-efficient Cortex-A510 cores. While this configuration is likely to be less energy efficient, it could provide a performance advantage over SD 8 Gen 3 under certain workloads.
Another advantage of the Dimensity 9300 is that it will offer memory speeds of up to 8500 Mbps thanks to LPDDR5X RAM support. There are claims that SD 8 Gen 3 supports LPDDR5 RAM up to 6400 Mbps.
Although the Dimensity 9300 is more cost-effective, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brand is a staple for certain brands. High-end Android manufacturers like Xiaomi and OnePlus offer certain flagships exclusively with the Snapdragon chipset. However, the higher price tag of the SD 8 Gen 3 may push manufacturers towards the Dimensity 9300.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is currently priced at $160. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is claimed to be over $200 per chip. This makes the MediaTek Dimensity series, which is around $150, much more advantageous.