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A Taiwanese company is still the biggest smartphone chip maker in the world.

Based on market analyst Counterpoint Research’s tracker, MediaTek remained the top handset chip vendor in the first quarter of 2021. It has held the position since the third quarter of 2020, when it expanded its market share to 31% and toppled Qualcomm for the first time ever, brought about by its performance in the midrange category and emerging markets; strong sales performance of MediaTek-based Samsung, Xiaomi, and Honor phones; and the U.S. ban on Huawei devices.

The company’s latest market share was even higher at 35%, up from 24% in the same period last year and from 32% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was for both LTE and 5G smartphones.

How the top 6 smartphone chip makers worldwide fared from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021

We said this before, and it remains true to this day: The data is indisputable evidence that MediaTek’s decision to focus its branding around gaming-centric G series chipsets and affordable 5G-ready Dimensity processors is tremendously paying off. A side note: The cheapest 5G phone in the Philippines thus far is the MediaTek Dimensity 700-powered POCO M3 Pro 5G.

Qualcomm, which had been expected to bounce back strong and retake the lead from MediaTek, failed to get the crown back. More interestingly, the gap between the two chip makers even widened. Keep in mind that the American multinational corporation had 29%, 28%, and 29% market shares in the last three quarters.

SEE ALSO: Realme GT 5G, Mi 11 Lite 5G top-performing phones in May 2021

These are the other global highlights of Counterpoint’s report:

• Apple was the biggest 5G original equipment manufacturer with the iPhone 12 series in the first quarter of 2021.
• Qualcomm led the 5G baseband market with 64% share and was in second place in the application-processor market with 29% share.

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