According to Counterpoint estimates, With 31% market share in Q3 2020, MediaTek became the biggest smartphone chipset vendor as smartphone sales rebounded in the quarter. MediaTek’s strong performance in the $100-$250 price band and growth in key regions, including China and India, are the major factors that helped it to jump into first place.
MediaTek Gains Strong Market Share in Q3 2020
Research Director Dale Gai said, “MediaTek’s strong market share gain in Q3 2020 happened due to three reasons – strong performance in the mid-end smartphone price segment ($100-$250) and emerging markets like LATAM and MEA, the US ban on Huawei and finally wins in leading OEMs like Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor. The share of MediaTek chipsets in Xiaomi has increased by more than three times since the same period last year. MediaTek was also able to leverage the gap created due to the US ban on Huawei. Affordable MediaTek chips fabricated by TSMC became the first option for many OEMs to quickly fill the gap left by Huawei’s absence. Huawei had also previously purchased a significant amount of chipsets ahead of the ban.” However, Qualcomm is still leading the market by providing SoCs for 5G smartphones and high-end devices. Counterpoint has reported that Qualcomm chips can be found in 39% of all the 5G-capable smartphones sold across the globe. Being more popular among 5G smartphones, it seems likely that Qualcomm will regain its title from MediaTek for Q4 2020. But for now, it’s MediaTek that secured the first positon and became world’s largest smartphone chipset vendor. Recommended Reading: MediaTek’s Growth Ambitions for Pakistan