Qualcomm is expected to become more competitive against Apple after shifting to TSMC’s 2nm process technology, but a new report suggests the company’s next flagship chipsets could become significantly more expensive.
According to a recent rumor, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro may cost more than $300 per unit.
Qualcomm is expected to launch the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro alongside the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 later this year.
The report claims the higher-end model could become too expensive for many Android smartphone makers to use across their flagship lineups.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was previously estimated to cost as much as $280 per unit, and ongoing DRAM shortages are reportedly adding more pressure on manufacturers.
The report states that pairing LPDDR6 RAM with UFS 5.0 storage could cost even more than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro itself.
As per reports, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro will cost more than $300.
For reference, here are the estimated costs of previous Snapdragon flagship SoCs:
• 8 Gen 1: $120–130 • 8+ Gen 1: $120–130 • 8 Gen 2: $160 • 8 Gen 3: $170–200 • 8 Elite: $220+ • 8 Elite…
— Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) May 12, 2026
Together, the chipset, RAM, and storage are expected to account for more than $600 in bill of materials costs for smartphone makers. The high component pricing could reduce profit margins for Android manufacturers.
The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is rumored to cost less than the Pro version, which could lead to broader adoption among premium smartphones.
However, the 2nm manufacturing process is reportedly not the only factor behind the higher pricing of the Pro model.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is also rumored to feature a faster GPU, a larger L2 cache, a 50% wider bus width, and other hardware upgrades compared with the standard version.
The report also claims Qualcomm may introduce four chipset variants for partners, including a Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 model that could replace the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
With flagship chipset costs increasing during the current memory shortage, Qualcomm is reportedly expected to rely more heavily on its non-flagship processors to drive revenue growth this year.
The company is also expanding into additional categories as part of its broader business strategy.
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