MediaTek consolidates its position as the leader in the processor market. The processor production market is in a bittersweet moment. Because while sales of these have soared due to the pandemic, this same event has harmed production, completely overwhelming it. Something that is leading to an unprecedented shortage of these. A market in which MediaTek is consolidating its position as the sales leader.
In recent years Qualcomm has usually been the leading processor manufacturer in the market, mainly because its products have traditionally been better accepted in Western countries, while MediaTek has always had a lot of weight in Asia. Now Counterpoint has unveiled how the processor market is doing in the first quarter of the year, and there are surprises.
MediaTek leads the first quarter
In the data provided by Counterpoint, we can see that the Chinese manufacturer has consolidated its position in first place among processor manufacturers worldwide. In this way, it not only surpasses Qualcomm but also other giants such as Apple or Samsung. In this first quarter of 2021, we have seen how MediaTek has taken 37% market share, which represents an increase of 5% year-on-year compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm once again took second place, although it also managed to increase its market share by 3%, slightly less than MediaTek.
An increase in sales for MediaTek and Qualcomm has been to the detriment of HiSilicon, the big loser due to Huawei’s problems with the US veto. The next three manufacturers on the list of those with the highest market share are Apple, with 16%, Samsung with 8%, and UNISOC, which has a 6% share. Apple has gained 1%, Samsung has lost three points and UNISOC has gained two points. The main changes are therefore due to the weakness of HiSilicon, whose offer has been absorbed more or less proportionally by the other manufacturers.
Qualcomm at the forefront of the 5G market
If we look at the sales data for 5G-only processors, we can see great equality among the top three manufacturers. Since the market in the first quarter of 2021 is led by Qualcomm, with a 30% share, while it is followed by Apple with 29% and MediaTek with 28%. Samsung is further behind with a 10% share.
In this market, MediaTek has undoubtedly gained the most market share, going from 15% in 2020 to 28% so far in 2021. And once again HiSilicon is the manufacturer that has ceded the most market share, losing practically all of the 23% share it had.
Counterpoint predicts that in 2021 the 5G processor market will be dominated by Qualcomm, with a 30% share in this segment. But it will not manage to overtake MediaTek in global sales, with an estimated market share of 37% in the full balance of 2021. MediaTek is growing not only because of the weakness of rivals such as HiSilicon, but also because it has a very competitive portfolio of processors with an increasingly better reputation.
