Chinese makers settle on 5G prices: $74 more than 4G phones

Peter, 21 January 2019

5G phones are coming and they will cost more than their 4G counterparts. How much more? A report claims that Chinese manufacturers have adopted a “5G+500” formula, meaning a CNY 500 premium (that’s $74/€65).

And it looks like that just barely covers the additional costs of producing a 5G phone. A 5G modem and compatible chipset are expected to add nearly $50 to the price then there’s $30 more for new antennas and other hardware.

That lines up with the early estimates of a $100 price hike in MSRP (accounting for taxes). Buyers in the West may be looking at a higher premium, however, perhaps as high as $200-$300.

Modem suppliers are looking forward to a jump in profits. All major players have announced 5G modems: Qualcomm, Samsung, HiSilicon (Huawei), Intel and MediaTek

Of course, with this much competition the prices of 5G hardware should start dropping fast, which will improve the profit margins of phone makers.

Source

Reader comments

Mr. Fluxy
25 Jan 2019
Myw

I really can`t stand when western ppl cry about discounts and wait for things to get cheaper with 20-50 bucs. They don`t see that they spend those amounts in daily basis for a drink in a pub, or what is even worse when they buy gas for their awfully ...

AnonD-731363
23 Jan 2019
SH3

With the 3% of the global coverage in next 2 years i rather stick to 4G LTE until the covarage will be 20% or more. At the present having 5G phone is as useless as having case on a duraforce pro phone most rugged phone by Jerry rig.