Counterpoint Research’s US Channel Share Tracker gave Qualcomm 47% of US smartphone sales in April 2022. MediaTek was second with 45%, Samsung 6%, and Google 3%.
Research Analyst Matthew Orf said MediaTek’s growth took off last year with design wins for the Samsung Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A32 5G, which sold over 5.2 and 3.8 million devices respectively in 2021. The chipmaker’s growth has continued with design wins in Samsung’s Galaxy A03s and Galaxy A13 5G and Motorola’s Moto G Pure and Moto G Power 2022.
MediaTek’s growth is also tied to white-label device sales. Senior Research Analyst Hanish Bhatia said carriers used white-label devices to fill low-end market gaps. 2021 carriers partnered with ODMs Tinno, Wingtech, and Foxconn to push sub-$250 5G white-label devices. Following AT&T and T-Mobile, Dish and Visible launched white-label devices. MediaTek sold 91% of Q1 2022’s 800,000 white-label devices.
Qualcomm’s market share has declined but remains strong in premium Android (> $800).
Senior Research Analyst Maurice Klaehne said, “While Qualcomm’s share has declined in the sub-$250 Android segment, it has a dominant position in the premium and mid-range Android markets ($250-$800).” Thanks to the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S22 series, Qualcomm had a 93% share of the $800 and above Android market in April and a 64% share of the $250-$800 Android market. Qualcomm’s position in the premium Android market is entrenched, and we don’t expect it to lose ground. The Snapdragon has become synonymous with high performance and reliability among Android OEMs and users.
MediaTek’s growth in the budget segment is impressive, and now it’s targeting the mid-range and premium segments of the US smartphone market, says Research Director Jeff Fieldhack. MediaTek announced its Dimensity 1050 mmWave 5G chipset. Verizon and AT&T require MmWave on mid-range and premium devices. This chipset should help MediaTek compete in the midrange and premium segments against Qualcomm, Google, and Samsung. Google’s tensor chipset has strong AI and machine learning features, helping the Pixel 6 sell better than the Pixel 5. The $449 Pixel 6a will feature Google’s silicon and should help its share. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Exynos chips have improved with the Galaxy A13 LTE and Galaxy A53 5G.
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