The global smartphone market showed some signs of recovery in the third quarter after a decline caused by this year’s coronavirus crisis. Last quarter, however, also brought a surprising change among suppliers of chipsets for smartphones. The American Qualcomm has long held the number one position, but now only MediaTek has dethroned. According to the analytical company Counterpoint, the Taiwanese manufacturer was to deliver its chipset to more than 100 million smartphones, which were sold in the third quarter of 2020. This means a 31% market share, compared to 26% in the same period last year. Qualcomm, on the other hand, lost from 31% to 29%.
–
Research Director Dale Gai said there are three reasons for MediaTek’s success this quarter. Manufacturers are extremely successful in the category of mid-range smartphones, at a price level of $ 100 to $ 250, as well as in emerging markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The second aspect that MediaTek recorded in the cards was the American ban on Huawei. Although he had previously supplied part of his chips to this Chinese brand, in the end he quickly filled this gap. The last reason was a partnership with successful smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung, Xiaomi or Honor. For example, the share of MediaTek chipsets in Xiaomi phones has tripled year-on-year.
–
On the contrary, Qualcomm was successful in high-end smartphones, but MediaTek was more successful in the middle class thanks to a more aggressive pricing policy. Both manufacturers benefited from the problems of the HiSilicon division and also from the increased demand for smartphones with 5G support. Qualcomm won in this category, delivering its 5G chipset to 39% of smartphones sold worldwide. Counterpoint data says interest in 5G smartphones has doubled year-on-year, accounting for 17% of the market in the third quarter of 2020. It could be up to a third this quarter, also thanks to the new 5G iPhones. This technology will soon become mainstream and will be available in cheaper models. Currently, the cheapest 5G smartphone Realme V3 uses a processor from MediaTek.
It is not clear whether MediaTek will maintain its leading position in the coming quarters. In any case, together with Qualcomm, they will dominate the smartphone chipset market. Other manufacturers HiSilicon, Samsung and Apple achieved a 12% share. In terms of worldwide smartphone sales, Samsung took first place, achieving the best result in the last three years last quarter. The second Huawei saw a decline, but maintained its silver position. Xiaomi then took third place, surpassing Apple for the first time in history.
Prices of related products:
–
