By dethroning Qualcomm, MediaTek has become the number one supplier of chipset for smartphones, revealed a market survey by Counterpoint Research from last week. The report stated that the Taiwan-based chip maker led the market with 31 percent in Q3 2020.
According to Counterpoint, MediaTek was able to gain the number one spot due to strong sales of the $100 to $250 priced smartphones in major markets like China and India. While the majority of smartphones powered by the Dimensity range of chipsets were released in China, most of the smartphones powered by MediaTek’s Helio series chipsets were launched in India.
As compared to Q3 2020 last year, the demand for 5G phones has increased by almost twofold in Q3 2021. The report states that 17 percent of all the phones that were sold in the market carried support for 5G connectivity.
In Q3 2019, MediaTek’s market share was 26 percent. In the same quarter this year, its market share increased to 31 percent, which translated to a growth of 5 percent. Qualcomm’s market share declined from 31 precent in Q3 2020 to 29 percent in Q3 this year. The report states that the U.S. based chip maker may take back its lost crown in Q4 2020.
There are three reasons why MediaTek met with a strong market share gain in Q3. Firstly, there was a strong demand for mid-range chipsets by MediaTek in markets like Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Secondly, it could leverage the US ban on Huawei. Due to the US sanctions, Huawei had acquired a huge amount of MediaTek chipsets before the ban. Thirdly, it received orders from other major brands like Samsung, and Honor.
