The latest report from the research organization Counterpoint shows that MediaTek’s market share in the global smartphone chip market in the first quarter of 2021 was as high as 35%, an increase of 3 percentage points from the previous quarter and a significant increase of 11 percentage points from the same period last year, for the third consecutive quarter. Gaoju City occupies the lead.

Qualcomm ranked second with a market share of 29%, an increase of 1 percentage point from the previous quarter and a decrease of 2 percentage points from the same period last year. The market share gap between Qualcomm and MediaTek widened to 6 percentage points from 4 percentage points in the previous quarter.

Counterpoint said that MediaTek’s market share jumped mainly due to the unrestricted supply of SoCs for 5G smartphones produced by TSMC and used for less than US$150, coupled with the expansion of the market share of 4G smartphones; while Qualcomm is limited by Samsung's Austin, Texas plant has insufficient supply, coupled with a relatively low 5nm chip yield.

The report further predicts that MediaTek’s market share in the smartphone chip market will reach 37% in 2021, which is an increase from 32% in 2020, and the market share gap with Qualcomm will increase from 4 percentage points in 2020 to 6 Percentage points. Qualcomm's market share in 2021 is estimated to be 31%.

In terms of other manufacturers, Apple benefited from the strong sales support of the iPhone 12 series. In the first quarter, its market share reached 17%, which was 3 percentage points higher than the same period last year, and 2 percentage points lower than the previous quarter, ranking third; Samsung’s market share 9%, a decrease of 5 percentage points from the same period last year, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the previous quarter, ranking fourth; Huawei’s HiSilicon’s market share was 5%, a sharp decline of 7 percentage points from the same period last year, and a decrease of 2 percentage points from the previous quarter. Percentage points, ranking fifth.