MediaTek Might Have Overtaken Qualcomm In US Android Marketshare

MediaTek might have just beaten out Qualcomm to claim the biggest market share of any chipmaker for Android phones in the United States -- at least, according to one analyst group. The Verge reports: According to IDC's quarterly mobile phone sales tracker, as Q4 2021 MediaTek chips account for 48.1 percent of all Android phones in the United States, compared to 43.9 percent for Qualcomm, as spotted by PCMag. Those numbers are a stark inversion from the previous quarter, where MediaTek had a 41 percent market share to Qualcomm's 56 percent. IDC's report notes that MediaTek's surge was driven largely by sales of the Galaxy A12, Galaxy A32, and G Pure, which made up 51 percent of MediaTek devices sold in Q4 and 24 percent of the entire Android market in the US. There are conflicting reports, however. According to The Verge, "Counterpoint Research's own report puts the Q4 2021 split at 55 percent for Qualcomm, and 37 percent for MediaTek, so it's possible that Qualcomm is still holding on to its crown for now."

Value is missing

[CaptQuark]

I'm less interested in who makes the chip inside the phone than I am in a decent cell phone that doesn't cost more than a moderately priced gaming PC.

I'm just trying to find a good Android phone with LTE4, wireless charging, and Bluetooth 5 or perhaps LE that doesn't cost over $500. I don't care about the latest IPS screen technology or OLED display, how many camera lenses it has, the super resolution of the rear facing camera, or whether I can charge a friend's phone with the NFC coil.

Almost every phone I spec out that has the minimum requirements I would like starts to approach $800. For a phone. That I use for making calls, not live my life off of.

However, I'm starting to find that almost every aspect of my life seems to assume I have at least a mid-range smart phone so I can install an app to check my bank balance, talk to my doctor, schedule a vaccine request, show my proof of vaccination, open a hotel door, show my driver's license and proof of insurance, control my smart appliances, control my car's information system, etc.

My current cell phone is only five years old and doesn't have the features or memory to do half of the things mentioned above. To add insult to feeling left out, my cell carrier now tells me that they will stop supporting the phone-calling technology in my phone in a few months so I really have no option but to purchase a new (or used) phone very soon. I wouldn't mind paying for a quality phone if I was assured I would be able to keep it for another five years before it too became obsolete.

Re:

[freeze128]

So you say you're interested in a low-cost smart phone? Then you ARE interested in who makes the SoC. Qualcomm usually has higher performance and better features at a higher cost. MediaTek SoCs are often less powerful, and found more in budget phones.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

Look for a last gen Pixel, or wait for the 6A to come out. In fact you can sometimes get a Pixel 6 for under $500 on sale, at least here in the UK.

Alternatively, look at the OnePlus Nord, or a Xiaomi phone.

Flagship market moved to Apple

[mpol]

I would think that Mediatek is big in low-end and mid-end. According to the report that is even growing. But the flagship market in the US is moving towards Apple phones with their own chips. That is cutting into the marketshare of Qualcom.

I wonder what the trend worldwide is, in many countries Android flagship phones are still being sold widely and Apple doesn't have the marketshare as in the US, I can imagine Qualcom having more marketshare worldwide.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

I would think that Mediatek is big in low-end and mid-end. According to the report that is even growing. But the flagship market in the US is moving towards Apple phones with their own chips. That is cutting into the marketshare of Qualcom.

I wonder what the trend worldwide is, in many countries Android flagship phones are still being sold widely and Apple doesn't have the marketshare as in the US, I can imagine Qualcom having more marketshare worldwide.

Qualcomm is losing because well, they're stubborn.

You'r

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Qualcomm only is around because they are still the leader in WWAN

And because of US sanctions against other competitors. MediaTek are lucky they're Taiwanese (our Chinese) and not mainland China (their Chinese).

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Oh, and just re-read TFA because I was sure MediaTek was number one some years ago: This is the US market. They'd already beaten Qualcomm globally a few years ago.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

Apple phones are hobbled by the software though. Unless all your use-cases fit within Apple software limits, and you are willing to get locked into that ecosystem by app purchases and accessories, they aren't a good option.

For some reason they are very popular in the US. In the rest of the world their market share is much lower.

Market share != Performance

[freeze128]

Just because MediaTek sells more chips doesn't mean that they are better. Their chips are often in low-end phones. That just means more people buy cheaper phones than more expensive high-performance phones.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Just because MediaTek sells more chips doesn't mean that they are better. Their chips are often in low-end phones. That just means more people buy cheaper phones than more expensive high-performance phones.

Qualcomm has low and midrange chips too, the Snapdragon 400 and 600 series, respectively, and the 200 series for even lower end.

But the problem is in the performance arena, Qualcomm isn't much better - the 800 series Kyro core is a mildly tweaked ARM A design. it's a coasting because in the 32-bit era, no