Since most of the Android smartphones we see on the European market come equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets, we assume that the American manufacturer is the market leader in such processors. That was true in previous years, but in 2020 it seems that MediaTek has managed to overtake Qualcomm and become the market leader in mobile processors. The company recorded a major increase last year, largely due to Xiaomi and Samsung, according to the data we currently have.
MediaTek has overtaken Qualcomm globally
MediaTek was once known as a company that develops low-performance budget processors but offers its solutions at affordable prices. In the last few years, however, since the launch of Dimensity models, MediaTek has started to be a competitive company in the market, offering performances similar to those of the competition at a lower price. Many of the mid-range smartphones in Asia are now equipped with MediaTek chipsets, and these are the models that move the largest volumes.
Thus, in 2020, according to a market study published by Omdia, MediaTek sold 351.8 million smartphone chipsets, with over 113 million more than in 2019. The company now has a market share of 27, 2% of the mobile processor market, a significant increase from only 17.2% a year ago.
Xiaomi was the company that helped MediaTek the most in the market, being the largest customer for the Taiwanese manufacturer. In 2020, there were 223% increases in Xiaomi smartphones delivered with MediaTek processors compared to 2019. Oppo also delivered 55.3 million phones with the company’s processors, compared to 46.3 in 2019, while Samsung had a 250% increase in demand for MediaTek processors compared to the previous year.
Omdia says that in 2021, MediaTek could grow even more, due to the fact that it will have a high demand from Huawei and Honor. While Honor is now an independent company, which will certainly collaborate with Qualcomm for the production of high-end and mid-range smartphones, it remains to be seen which processor models Huawei will be able to buy from MediaTek. US restrictions say Huawei cannot buy 5G modem processors, so it will probably be limited to entry and mid-range models.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
