Counterpoint: MediaTek tops the smartphone SoC market, Qualcomm at 2nd spot!

In the Counterpoint Research report, MediaTek tops the market for the smartphone processor sector.

The current flagship chip of MTK

MediaTek leads the smartphone SoC market!

The most recent data shared by Counterpoint covers Q4 2021 to Q1 2023. It showed the fascinating trends and transitions among the smartphone chip's key players. MediaTek came as the leading force in the industry during the Q1 of 2023, despite taking a dip from the previous quarter.

MediaTek notably secured a 32 percent market share based on the table while Qualcomm comes close at 28 percent for the 2nd rank.

The data provided by Counterpoint

However, it is evident that despite MediaTek's leads in this area, they still declined in Q3-Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. This is due to inventory adjustments and weak demand that resulted in a decline of 5 percent in LTE SoC shipments and less than 5 percent growth in 5G SoC shipments for Q2 2023. Experts say that they are expecting a rebound from the Taiwanese chip maker this coming second half of the year as the inventory level stabilizes.

On the other hand, Qualcomm has seen a 9 percent jump from 19 percent in Q4 2022 to 28 percent this Q1 2023. The analysts noted that Qualcomm shipments are expected to remain flat in Q2 2023 as there are inventory reductions and will return to normal in the next quarters.

Meanwhile, Apple's A-series chips remained at the 3rd spot all throughout 2021 to 2023 with the most recent having 26 percent market share. However, experts suggest that chipsets are forecasted to decline in the next quarter this year because of seasonality. Regardless of this, the iOS market beat the Android market and showed endurance in the face of low demand.

For Samsung, they experience a bit of an increase in terms of shipments in 2023, that is thanks to the Exynos 1330 and 1380 chips. Sales increased because these products are targeted to both high-end and low-end market segments.

UNISOC, the chipmaker that prioritizes entry-level phones gets the 4th spot with an 8 percent market share this Q1 2023. This is fueled by the increasing demand for its LTE lineup in devices under USD 99 or around PHP 5.5K when converted.

HUAWEI HiSilicon, now having under 1 percent market share, could potentially make a comeback with a new mobile chip expected to be unveiled in the near future. Experts say that they predicted a shipment volume of around 2-4 million units for HUAWEI Hisilicon in 2023.

Also, the Counterpoint noted the positive effects of OPPO's sudden decision to leave its chip development plans for both MTK and Qualcomm as that would mean one less competitor in the industry.

What do you guys think about this?

Source: ITHOME, Via: GizmoChina