Application Processors
MediaTek, the global leader in the mobile application processor (AP) industry, is accelerating its market share expansion with the launch of its new chipset.
According to industry sources on July 13, MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest fabless semiconductor design firm, recently unveiled its new mobile AP product, the Dimensity 6100+.
The product, produced via TSMC’s 6-nanometer process, is designed for 5th generation (5G) mid- to low-priced smartphones. Smartphones equipped with the Dimensity 6100+ are expected to be launched during the third and fourth quarters of this year. MediaTek is diversifying its chipset offerings according to price points, including premium (Dimensity 9000 series), mid-range (Dimensity 8000 series), and low-cost (Dimensity 6000 series) to capture the market. A mobile AP plays a vital role as the “brain” of a smartphone.
MediaTek, which has increased its market share by supplying budget chipsets to mid- to low- priced smartphones in China, officially entered the premium mobile AP market in 2019 by launching the Dimensity 9000 for flagship smartphones. The Dimensity 9000, which MediaTek released using TSMC’s 4-nm process in November 2021, performed better than other leading fabless firms’ latest mobile APs like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 1st generation, attracting significant market attention. This coincided with U.S. sanctions against Chinese firm Huawei, prompting Chinese smartphone manufacturers like OPPO and Xiaomi to start adopting MediaTek chipsets extensively.
Consequently, MediaTek is quickly expanding its influence not only in the key market of smartphones priced below US$299, but also in the middle-priced (US$300-499) and high-priced (US$500 and above) smartphone markets. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, MediaTek recorded a 32% market share in the global mobile AP market in the first and fourth quarters of this year, ranking first, followed by Qualcomm (28%) and Apple (26%) in second and third place, respectively.
In contrast, Samsung Electronics only managed to gain a 4% market share in the first and fourth quarters of this year. This was due to the cancellation of the Exynos integration in the newly launched Galaxy S23 series at the beginning of the year. Samsung’s fabless System LSI Business Department is focusing on resolving issues like overheating and performance degradation of Exynos for its next Galaxy product. The industry expects that the “Galaxy S23 FE,” which will be released in the second half of this year, will be equipped with the Exynos 2200. There is also a high probability that next year’s flagship Galaxy S24 series smartphone will feature the same.