We asked, you told us: You're steering clear of MediaTek phones in 2021

MediaTek was in the news last month after tracking firm Omdia found that it was the world’s biggest smartphone chipset vendor in 2020. This would be the first time the Taiwanese chipmaker has achieved this goal, with its success attributed to low-end and mid-range segments.

This news got us wondering whether Android Authority readers would be eyeing a MediaTek-powered phone in 2021. We posted a poll last week and here’s how you voted.

Are you considering buying a MediaTek phone in 2021?

Results

The poll was posted on March 29, and just over 1,300 votes were tallied at the time of writing. Unfortunately for the chipmaker, almost two-thirds of polled readers said they wouldn’t consider buying a MediaTek-powered phone this year.

There’s no word on exactly why people voted this way, but enthusiasts have traditionally steered clear of MediaTek chipsets for a variety of reasons. Qualcomm‘s high-end chipsets have traditionally offered better performance (particularly when it comes to GPUs), as well as better driver support for emulators and other tasks. Another oft-repeated criticism of MediaTek is that source code is tougher to come by, making custom ROM development and general device tinkering a bigger challenge.

Nevertheless, a sizeable chunk of polled readers (~34.4%) said they would indeed consider a MediaTek-powered phone this year. Some of the comments suggest that mid-range MediaTek-powered phones offer plenty of bang for buck. Some of the more prominent budget phones in this regard include the Redmi 9, Redmi Note 10 5G, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, and the realme 8.

Comments

• Ärchœn Sâbré: As long as there is no tracking hardware & software built in MediaTek may be worth to consider as their devices are priced competitively versus Qualcomm
• Plumplum: I’m waiting for a D1100 or D1200 with a good camera setup available in Europe… Kind of: 64 or 108MP Gen 2 main with OIS, 13MP ultrawide, 13MP Telephoto x4 or x5 with OIS (no x2, it’s useless with hi-res main). Still no trusted informations about cameras on Redmi gaming phone or realme GT Neo. But it’s a whim as my Helio G90T is still fine!
• BlackSh33p: Cheap people need smartphones too
• Montisaquadeis: I will never touch the likes of MediaTek,Allwinner, or Rockchip. Personally waiting to see how Samsung fairs once the get an SOC out with AMD’s RDNA2 onboard
• MD. Faraz Ahmad: I am only considering buying Dimensity based processor Smartphone in 2021 not Helio.. or I will buy Snapdragon 750G. Let’s see how much lower price they keep for Snapdragon 480.
• Roberto Suarez: Same here… I will only buy 5G for me, my kids. And only recommending 5G for my family & friend. Media Dimensity 5G series is one of the good & affordable chipset. Also Hoping the Snapdragon 480 & 690 to join the affordable 5G series.

Thanks for voting in our poll and for leaving a comment! Would you consider a MediaTek-powered phone in 2021? Let us know in the comments!