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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra price hike likely amid Korea’s political chaos
Samsung Galaxy S25 series could get a price hike in South Korea. The reason is political chaos in the country, including the brief implementation of martial law.
Korean media reports that Samsung may increase the price of the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. Due to political turmoil, the Korean currency has significantly weakened to the US dollar.
The Galaxy S25 series could be affected by exchange rates. TSMC has already raised its production costs, and the rising value of the dollar has significantly increased chip purchase costs.
After President Yoon’s “emergency martial law” incident, the Korean Won’s rates have weakened against the US dollar, which has led to an increase in product prices.
Samsung is likely to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip across the Galaxy S25 series. As there is no Exynos configured, the company may have an intense burden of product costs.
Galaxy S24 and S24+ released earlier this year cost the same as their predecessor. However, the S24 Ultra’s price increased by 100,000 won compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra due to Snapdragon.
Qualcomm has increased the Snapdragon chipset’s pricing by up to 30%. This is due to the utilization of TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm fabrication process for the first time.
As all models tentatively use Snapdragon chips, a price hike seems unavoidable. However, freezing prices would significantly affect the company’s operating profit and revenue generation.
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1299 in the US, while the S24 Ultra starts at $1399. There’s already a difference of $100, and another price bump would reduce Samsung’s storm.
