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Brace yourselves: Flagship Android phones will get more expensive
- A Xiaomi executive said smartphone manufacturing costs are continuing to rise and will be a major challenge at the end of the year.
- The executive even asked followers if they want downgraded phones to maintain pricing or more expensive phones with upgraded features.
- We’re expecting a price hike for almost all flagship Android phones in 2025.
Smartphone prices have been creeping ever higher over the past few years, and we aren’t expecting cheaper prices in 2025. Now, a Xiaomi executive has also sounded the alarm on pricier phones.
Redmi general manager Wang Teng Thomas noted on Weibo that “upstream” costs continue to rise when it comes to smartphones. The executive even asked followers whether they prefer smartphones with downgraded features to maintain pricing or more expensive phones with upgrades.
The post suggests that Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship phones, expected in October, could be more expensive or see downgrades to maintain the same pricing.
Is an industry-wide price hike on the cards?
Evidence suggests that higher pricing isn’t a Xiaomi-only problem. Inflation hit global markets hard in the last couple of years, resulting in brands like Google and Samsung raising prices. Some manufacturers are also adding more RAM to their phones to accommodate the latest AI features, and this will undoubtedly result in a more expensive bill of materials.
Perhaps the biggest reason to expect higher prices in 2025 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, which is expected to power a slew of top Android phones. Qualcomm confirmed last year that the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor would be more expensive than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This was echoed by veteran analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in June, claiming that the chip would be 25 to 30% more expensive.
Which proposition would you prefer in 2025?
Needless to say, it seems like many next-generation flagship Android phones could see price hikes or downgrades. In fact, frequent leaker Digital Chat Station claimed on Weibo that some Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 phones could see camera downgrades, suggesting main camera downgrades and a switch from periscope back to telephoto cameras.
This wouldn’t be the first time major price hikes affected high-end Android phones. Many flagship phones released in 2020 boasted higher prices or downgraded features, largely due to the apparent high price of the Snapdragon 865 chipset and its bundled 5G modem. So it looks like we should brace for a similar scenario next year.