Report: Qualcomm no longer world's biggest smartphone chipset vendor

Most tech companies struggled through 2020, but chipmaker MediaTek arguably had one of the best years in its history. The firm finally topped the smartphone chipset shipments charts for the first time in its history, according to data from Omdia (via DigiTimes).

MediaTek reportedly shipped 351.8 million smartphone chipsets in 2020 — an increase of 113.8 million over 2020. It now holds a global market share of 27.2%, compared to just 17.2% in 2019.

Read also: The best MediaTek phones you can get your hands on

This news shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. In December, Counterpoint reported that MediaTek overtook Qualcomm as the world’s biggest chipset vendor. There were indications that MediaTek would later usurp the US firm. According to Omdia, the growth is reportedly owing to MediaTek’s focus on entry-level and mid-range smartphones.

Xiaomi, Samsung aid MediaTek’s growth

MediaTek didn’t do it all alone though. The biggest growth spurt came courtesy of Xiaomi‘s explosive overall growth in 2020. It was MediaTek’s biggest customer in 2020 reportedly shipping 223% more smartphones with the company’s chips in 2020 than in 2019.

OPPO was MediaTek’s second-biggest customer in 2020. It shipped 55.3 million devices with MediaTek chipsets in 2020 compared to 46.3 million in 2019, per the report.

Samsung also saw demand for its MediaTek smartphones grow by over 250% in 2020 over 2019. A swathe of the firm’s cheaper mid-range phones employs MediaTek chips.

Omdia reportedly expects MediaTek to see further growth in 2021, with the likes of HUAWEI and HONOR also set to join the chipmaker’s bandwagon.

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