Android smartphones are experiencing a wave of price hikes, with vivo, the world’s fifth-largest smartphone brand, leading the trend.
Vivo’s latest flagship X200 series, equipped with MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9400 5G chip, is priced 7.5% higher than market expectations. Industry experts attribute this to a significant increase in the price of the Dimensity 9400, and it is expected that other brands may follow suit, making MediaTek the primary beneficiary.
The Dimensity 9400 is priced around $155, while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 costs around $190.
Additionally, due to rising memory costs, high-end smartphones released this year are unlikely to offer the 24GB+1TB versions, with most models downsizing to 16GB+512GB or 16GB+1TB configurations.
MediaTek launched the Dimensity 9400 on October 9, and vivo was one of the first to adopt it, with the X200 series being the debut model for this chip. MediaTek highlights that the Dimensity 9400 is produced using TSMC’s 3nm process, offering superior performance and lower power consumption, enabling more powerful generative AI applications. The number of models incorporating this chip is expected to surpass that of the previous generation, with MediaTek projecting over 50% revenue growth for its 2024 flagship products.
Qualcomm is expected to release its latest flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, later this week.
Seizing the window before Qualcomm’s launch, vivo released its X200 series with the Dimensity 9400. Initially, the market anticipated that after Apple’s iPhone 16 series adopted a “more features without price increase” strategy, Android brands would follow by maintaining last year’s flagship pricing.
However, vivo surprised the market by raising the starting price of the X200 series from the previous 3,999 yuan to 4,299 yuan, an increase of about 7.5%.
Analysts believe that the smartphone market has reached a plateau and is even facing potential declines. Despite Apple not raising prices for its new models, vivo’s price increase is largely due to the higher costs associated with the Dimensity 9400. To reflect these rising processor prices, brands are forced to adjust prices, and vivo has taken the lead, with other brands expected to follow.
Rumors suggest that Redmi’s new K80 series, known for its value-for-money positioning, may also see a significant price hike.
The industry views rising smartphone processor costs, driven by the integration of AI functions and the use of advanced and expensive manufacturing processes, as a trend that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse. MediaTek, with its high market share in the Android smartphone segment, stands to benefit the most from these price increases.
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