Qualcomm appears to be losing out to MediaTek in becoming the biggest smartphone chipset maker. MediaTek was the topmost and the biggest smartphone chipset maker all through 2020, as per the reports from Omdia. While most of the smartphone manufacturers struggled to sail through during the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, MediaTek could muster one of the best years in terms of business growth.
MediaTek could reportedly ship 351.8 million smartphone chipsets in 2020. This was a huge growth of over 113.8 million compared to the previous year. As of 2020, MediTek now holds a market share of 27.2% when you compare it to 17.2% share in 2019.
The report has not come up suddenly though. In December, we had a report by CounterPoint Research that indicated that the manufacturer has become the Biggest Smartphone Chipset Vendor for First Time in Q3 2020. The growth has been primarily due to the interest being shown in the budget devices in the key markets such as India and China. MediaTek has understood the essence of entry and budget range of devices.
Samsung and Xiaomi Helped MediaTek become the biggest smartphone chip supplier
Xiaomi was one of the brands that could come up with a massive growth trajectory in 2020. MediaTek was one of the primary suppliers for the chipsets on most of the budget and even mid range devices manufactured by Xiaomi. MediaTek has gone on record showing a growth of 223% in terms of the smartphones using the company’s chips in 2020.
The second biggest customer for MediaTek in 2020 was Oppo. The brand shipped over 55.3 million smartphones with the MediaTek processors. The third and prominent player was Samsung. The demand for MediaTek processors in 2020 grew to 250% in 2020 when compared to 2019. That had a lot to do with the growth of cheaper mid range phones from Samsung in the Chinese and Indian markets.
Now, the growth trajectory of MediaTek has been growing consistently and is expected to do well in 2021 as well. Omedia expects the growth to continue, thanks to the brands such as Huawei and Honor all set to move towards MediaTek.
Like Zaker Li, senior analyst of wireless devices components & devices at Omdia puts it aptly,
If Qualcomm and other chipset manufacturers want to be in the limelight, they need to ensure in opting for the diversification of their supply chain.
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