Focused on Mid- To Low-End AP Market
Samsung Electronics' mobile application processor (AP) Exynos is approaching a double-digit market share on the back of sales growth in the mid- to low-end smartphone AP market.
The Exynos brand was first unveiled in 2010. Samsung Electronics has sought to develop its own AP for the past 12 years, and its efforts are beginning to pay off. The adoption of the Exynos is on the rise not only for Samsung smartphones but for those of foreign companies.
Market research firm Omdia said on Aug. 4 that shipments of major mobile AP companies such as Apple and Qualcomm fell in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter.
Exynos shipments, excluding those for premium smartphone models, surged 53.0 percent from 14.9 million units in the first quarter to 22.8 million units in the second quarter. On the other hand, Taiwan’s MediaTek, the No. 1 player in the global AP market, saw its share decrease 9.6 percent from 110.7 million units to 100.1 million units during the same period. MediaTek is a powerhouse in the mid- to low-end AP market. Its APs mainly power Chinese smartphone brands.
The market share of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon decreased by 4.0 percent from 66.7 million units to 64 million units and that of Apple APs 13.3 percent from 56.4 million units to 48.9 million units. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics’ mobile AP market share based on shipments expanded from 4.8 percent in the first quarter to 7.8 percent in the second quarter. Although Samsung's share is still lower than those of MediaTek (34.1 percent), Snapdragon (21.8 percent), Apple (16.6 percent), and Unisoc (9.0 percent), it is notable that the Exynos is gradually expanding its share in the mid- to low-end AP market.
When Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division announced its first quarter earnings, it announced that it would greatly expand its mobile system-on-chip (SoC) supply by adding a mid-to-low-end lineup. This strategy paid off handsomely, analysts say. Samsung Electronics released the Exynos 1080, a mid-to-low-end model this year, which was adopted for the Galaxy A53 5G and A33 5G.
The Exynos 850, released in 2020, also fared well. The Galaxy A13 LTE, which was ranked third in the smartphone sales standings in the second quarter, is powered by the Exynos 850. The top 10 list also included the Galaxy A53 5G with Exynos 1080 and the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy S22 with Exynos 2200.
In the first half of this year, Samsung Electronics had difficulties in supplying the Exynos for premium smartphones due to a yield problem. Some market observers forecast that the company might stop the Exynos business and start developing a new AP.
In response, Samsung Electronics dismissed the rumor of discontinuing the Exynos business in a conference call for second quarter earnings on July 28. “We are pursuing a plan to sharpen our competitiveness in the mid- to long-term,” a Samsung official said. “To improve the soundness of our mobile-centric business structure, we will expand the applications of the Exynos to wearables, laptop modems, and Wi-Fi products.”