So far, we have been hearing mixed reports about the price of Qualcomm’s upcoming flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 875. First, it was reported that it would cost $250 or about $100 more than the Snapdragon 865. Because of the presumed price increase, the Samsung Galaxy S21 (S30) was expected to stick with the Snapdragon 865. After all, the high prices of the current Galaxy S series phones are said to be hurting sales and we are hearing the Galaxy Note 20 will also start at $999.Later on, it emerged that Qualcomm probably wouldn’t hike the price that much, given the pandemic-induced economic turmoil. In contrast to the 7nm Snapdragon 865, the Snapdragon 875 will likely be made on the 5nm process, and this would improve performance and power efficiency. It will also supposedly come with an integrated 5G modem. Since these are significant upgrades, Qualcomm has grounds for increasing the price.

Does the Galaxy S21 (S30) really need the Snapdragon 875?

The supposed good news is that the Snapdragon 875 will not cost $250. The bad news is that, at $220, it will still be a lot more expensive than its predecessor. 

A catch-22 situation for Samsung

According to another tip, all Galaxy S21 (S30) variants will use the upcoming Exynos 1000 silicon. Contrary to a previous rumor, it doesn’t look like the unannounced chip has surpassed the Snapdragon 865. And given the negative press the Exynos 990 got, using an in-house chip for all Galaxy S21 (S30) models does not seem like a good idea. 

Like the Snapdragon 875, the Exynos 1000 will seemingly be a 5nm chip too and it is also expected to come with an AMD GPU.

So, while it’s certainly possible that the Exynos 1000 will match the Snapdragon 875, the Exynos 990 fiasco could prevent most consumers from taking a chance.

On the other hand, if Samsung goes with the Snapdragon 875, it may result in an increase in price and alienate even the most loyal of customers.