MediaTek Beats Qualcomm as Largest Chip Vendor in 2020 with 31% Market Share

MediaTek has surpassed Qualcomm as the top smartphone chip manufacturer and vendor this year, after pulling off a massive turn in 2020's third quarter with control over 31 percent on the market. The company is the lesser-known one compared to Qualcomm in terms of smartphone processors but has now made a dent in the industry and establishing its name.

It was impossible to imagine that Qualcomm would be surpassed in terms of smartphone chips in the market as the most known brands and companies rely on the American multinational semiconductor company. However, that changed as the Taiwanese MediaTek have rattled the market and took the crown from Qualcomm this year.

MediaTek and Qualcomm are the Apple and Microsoft or Intel and AMD of smartphones, being the top two companies responsible for the world's semiconductor chips that power this generation's smartphones. Qualcomm was mostly associated with top-tier and flagship smartphones, including Samsung's Galaxy S series, OnePlus, and the like.

On the other hand, MediaTek is responsible for mid-tier and entry-level smartphones, covering the affordable variants that do not sacrifice much power from the phones. Recently, MediaTek pushed itself to make 5G available for mid-tier smartphones, which in turn resulted in the massive sale as it appealed to more budget-friendly prices.

According to Slash Gear, the company's venture to making mid-tier smartphones available with 5G resulted in MediaTek's success and rapid growth in the market. The third quarter of the year has given MediaTek a significant push that made it the top-selling chip vendor of 2020.

MediaTek: Numbers Don't Lie; Qualcomm Surpassed

According to Counterpoint Research's Data, MediaTek rose from 26 percent to a massive 31 percent which was achieved through the third quarter of 2020. On the other hand, Qualcomm dropped from 31 percent to 29 percent this year.

This trend was hard to achieve for MediaTek in 2019, having only 26 percent compared to Qualcomm's 31 percent last year. Now, the two smartphone chip vendors have switched places, with MediaTek leading the market shares near the end of 2020, among competitors including Apple, Samsung, Hisilicon, and Qualcomm.

The numbers would have small to almost no change once results for the fourth quarter of 2020 go out, which would most likely be during the early days of January 2021. The demand for mid-tier smartphones grew during the course of the pandemic and surely contributed to MediaTek's growth this year.

However, despite MediaTek's massive control over market shares towards the end of the year, Qualcomm is still the top vendor responsible for making 5G available for the entire world. The two are not battling it up in terms of 5G technology, with Qualcomm pushing for the top-tier smartphone variants and MediaTek responsible for supplying the mid-tier variants with 5G technology.

Both companies would have to hash it out in the coming year, as new demands, innovations, and markets would appear for MediaTek and Qualcomm, as 5G gets its second year of release among the public. The 5G technology is also under development now, as it continues innovation and upgrades in terms of connection.

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Written by Isaiah Alonzo