Qualcomm has been above Mediatek for a long time, but now it’s different, in the Q3 2021 period (July-September 2021), MediaTek is increasing its advantage over Qualcomm in terms of shipping system on a chip (SoC) for mobile phones. Counterpoint Research released data in Q3 2021 that MediaTek has a 40% market share while Qualcomm has 27%. Mediatek’s system on a chip (SoC) shipments increased compared to Q3 2020 because MediaTek’s market share was 33% while Qualcomm’s was 28%.

Beneath it is Apple, whose market share rose 3% over the same period a year earlier, which rose from 12% to 15%. The 4th position is Unisoc which controls a 10% market share and Samsung is below it with a 5% market share.

Interestingly, even though it has been banned by the United States, there is still HiSilicon on this list with a 2% market share. HiSilicon is a Kirin chip manufacturer from Huawei’s business unit, which is no longer producing chips and its market share has fallen from 13% in Q3 2020.

Factors for increasing MediaTek sales

Even a name that is not as well-known as Unisoc compared to other chip manufacturers. To be on this list, even for three consecutive quarters, is fantastic. All of this happened for two reasons, namely:

First they have contracts with several companies such as Realme, Motorola, ZTE, and even Samsung. Honor, a brand that previously depended on chips from HiSilicon, has now signed a contract with it.

Both of these increasing advantages of MediaTek are due to the huge demand for 4G SoCs. The scarcity of 5G chips is also affecting shipments, with MediaTek’s SoCs now being used in every two out of five phones on the market.

Qualcomm is still leading the 5G market share even though they are experiencing component supply issues. Qualcomm has a market share of 62% in this area, which is helped by the fact that it has two contractors to manufacture its main components, including the Snapdragon 8 series and its premium 5G modem chip.