MediaTek surpasses Qualcomm to become the biggest chip maker in the US

MediaTek is no longer the mid-tier chipset vendor we've known for years, with the launch of its flagship and high-end smartphone SoCs. According to the latest report, it's going after…

By Nivedita Bangari

March 3, 2022

2 min read

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MediaTek is no longer the mid-tier chipset vendor we’ve known for years, with the launch of its flagship and high-end smartphone SoCs. According to the latest report, it’s going after Qualcomm, the most prominent Android chipmaker in the United States.

According to the most recent data from IDC’s quarterly mobile phone sales tracker, MediaTek processors had the largest market share in the United States in Q4, 2021, accounting for 48.1 per cent of all Android handsets in the country. This made the corporation the country’s largest, surpassing Qualcomm, which had a market share of 43.9 per cent in the same quarter. This is a significant change from the previous quarter when Qualcomm had a 56 per cent market share and had maintained a strong lead over the competition. ,

On the other hand, MediaTek has a market share of 41%. Affordable handsets such as Samsung’s Galaxy A12, Galaxy A32, and Motorola’s G Pure drove MediaTek’s sales in Q4, accounting for 51 per cent of all devices sold. Even though the firm is relatively unknown in the United States, its success with its flagship SoC, the Density 9000, and its high-end SoCs, the Density 8000 and Density 8100, suggests it may be gaining traction.

According to benchmarks, the Density 9000 is the fastest Android smartphone processor currently available, easily outperforming the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200. MediaTek’s Density 8000 and 8100 are likely to be included in more cheap Android handsets than last year’s Snapdragon 888. One of the most appealing features of the Density 9000 is that it supports mmWave networks, advantageous to consumers in the United States.

Consumers will take some time to switch from Snapdragon-powered flagships to MediaTek-powered ones, assuming more phone makers adopt them. On the other hand, more competition is always a good thing because it forces Qualcomm and Samsung to produce better technology later this year.