The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 might be a little too pricey for Qualcomm’s partners’ liking, but it is the preferred chipset for consumers when they are shopping for the latest and greatest Android flagship. According to a market research firm survey, respondents are three times more willing to pay for a Snapdragon SoC and do not mind forking over a 16 percent premium just as long as the silicon powers their next device. For Samsung, this is a major conundrum as the company looks to reduce its chipset expenditure heavily by introducing the Exynos 2600 to the Galaxy S26 family early next year.
From the same survey, 84 percent of respondents said that they consider Qualcomm to be the leader in the smartphone chipset segment
The survey was conducted by Qualcomm itself, with Korean media outlet Chosun failing to mention the name of the market research firm and the number of participants. Assuming that 1,000 individuals took part, the number is still far too small to get an accurate picture of the impression consumers have of Qualcomm and its Snapdragon brand worldwide. For Samsung, it will employ the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in 75 percent of all Galaxy S26 models set to arrive next year, but assuming the company had a choice, it would likely stick with an Exynos 2600 launch in all markets.
The reason it can’t is because of a deal inked with Qualcomm, with Samsung likely getting penalized with a hefty fine if it fails to incorporate the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the majority of its Galaxy S26 shipments. The survey also revealed that 84 percent of participants believe Qualcomm to be the leader in the smartphone chipset segment, and for the foreseeable future, we can safely assume that consumers will maintain this stance about the company. The problem mainly exists for the San Diego firm’s partners, who have little choice but to stick with Snapdragon chipsets or use MediaTek’s Dimensity range.
For Samsung, it had every opportunity to obtain independence from both Qualcomm and MediaTek by pursuing the development of high-end Exynos chipsets. Unfortunately, time and time again, the company’s SoCs kept disappointing, but the Exynos 2600 is showing some promise. Then again, it will take years for Samsung to win back the loyalty of customers who now view Qualcomm as the undisputed king of Android smartphone chipsets.
News Source: Chosun
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