There is no doubt that Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are one of the best and most widely used. However, recently its competitor, MediaTek seems to have taken over the lead and has become the world’s largest vendor of smartphone chipsets as per the market share and has beat Qualcomm by a significant margin.
MediaTek’s ‘dramatic’ spike in market share
MediaTek’s market share was around 26% in the second quarter of 2020. However, in the third quarter, the company saw more than 100 million smartphones supported by MediaTek’s chipsets selling like hotcakes, and this spiked its market share to 31% during July-September 2020.
MediaTek’s chipsets in the bracket of $100-$250 showed robust performance. Also, the company saw popularity in regions like India and China.
MediaTek’s growth indented Qualcomm’s market share.
In the second quarter of 2020, Qualcomm’s market share was around 31%. It dropped to 29% in the third quarter.
But Qualcomm got some good support from its 5G line which saw a 39% of market share during the third quarter of 2020.
Qualcomm launched 5G chipsets including Snapdragon 690, 750G, and 865 Plus. All these chipsets are available for a limited number of handphones that support the 5G networks. This is one of the reasons why Qualcomm saw a relative dip in its market share in front of MediaTek, but experts think that since the demand for 5G smartphones is increasing, there are chances that Qualcomm will bounce back with a bang and will reclaim the ‘throne’ from MediaTek once again.
Even in the third quarter, more than 17% of smartphones that were sold all over the world included or supported 5G network connectivity. Of course, this is not going to stop here, and the demand is going to increase. When that happens, Qualcomm’s 5G chipsets and its market share will also spike.
MediaTek’s 5G Chipsets
MediaTek also launched its 5G supporting Dimensity chipsets across different price ranges in 2020. They are also doing good and some people believe that they are even better than Snapdragon 765. But will they be able to maintain the lead in front of a powerful competitor like Qualcomm? Only time can tell.
Counterpoint Research Director Dale Gai thinks that MediaTek got lucky during the third quarter because of three important reasons: 1) Strong performing chipsets especially for the mid-end smartphone price category, 2) Huawei’s ban in the US, and 3) Original Equipment Manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Honor starting to use its chipsets and its popularity amongst emerging markets like LATAM and MEA.
Even Qualcomm also benefited because of Huawei’s ban and its market share also increased due to this factor.
Both the chip-making companies seem to have shifted their focus more towards the consumer base, and this is going to benefit them in the long run anyway.
I’m Ava Paul, an experienced news website author with a special focus on the entertainment section. Over the past five years, I have worked in various positions of media and communication at World Stock Market. My experience has given me extensive knowledge in writing, editing, researching and reporting on stories related to the entertainment industry.
