MediaTek beats Qualcomm to emerge as biggest smartphone chipmaker in 3Q20; India, China top contributors

Taiwan-based MediaTek was the biggest smartphone chipset maker in Q3 2020, according to research firm CounterPoint. The company, which makes budget chips like the Helio G35, Helio G85, grabbed 31 percent of the market share.

MediaTek became the biggest smartphone chipset vendor for the first time. The CounterPoint report states China and India were the biggest contributors to MediaTek’s successful quarter. The company performed best in the $100-$250 price band. In India, most smartphones within the mentioned price range come with a MediaTek Helio G35, Helio G85, Helio G90T processor.

With a 31 percent market share in Q3 2020, MediaTek saw a five percent YoY growth.

“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,” Research Director Dale Gai said. He further added that 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.

MediaTek’s biggest rival Qualcomm had a 29 percent share in the same quarter. However, the Snapdragon chip-maker was the biggest 5G chipset vendor in Q3 2020. It powered 39 percent of the 5G phones sold worldwide. 

There was a tie for the third spot between Samsung’s Exynos and Apple’s A-series chipsets. Both company’s caught 12 percent of the chipset market.

The report further stated that the demand for 5G smartphones doubled in Q3 2020 - 17 percent of all smartphones sold in Q3 2020 were 5G. It is estimated that one-third of smartphones shipped in Q4 2020.