Samsung is the largest memory chip maker as well as the second-largest chip buyer in the world. But, the company became the world’s fifth-largest smartphone application processor (AP) maker, reported StrategyAnalytics. However, the company’s mobile AP performance largely depends on its Galaxy smartphone sales as it focusing to expand its presence in the mobile microprocessor sector.
In terms of revenue, Samsung has a 9% share of the global smartphone chipset market. The global smartphone processor demand increased 25 percent last year to $25 billion as there was strong demand for processors with built-in 5G connectivity. The 5nm and 7nm chipsets are also in high demand, benefiting Samsung’s foundry arm and TSMC.
In 2020, the South Korean tech giant justified itself as the largest smartphone maker in the world, while handset exports fell. Samsung’s Vivo 5G chip connection was successful in 2020, with the performance of Korean consumers in the smartphone market limiting its growth.
Qualcomm Technologies was the leading smartphone AP seller with a revenue share of 31 percent, because of the popular demand of its Snapdragon series, while Apple was the runner-up with a 23 percent share after its A14 Bionic, the world’s first 5-nanometer AP, got a boost from the launch of the iPhone 12.
China’s HiSilicon Technologies came in third with an 18 percent revenue share, although its shipments dropped 20 percent due to U.S. sanctions on its supply chain partners, including Huawei. However, Taiwan’s MediaTek was almost behind HiSilicon to rank fourth also with an 18 percent share.
Sravan Kundojjala, an associate director at Strategy Analytics, said, “The company’s in-house customer’s underperformance in the smartphone market limited its growth. Samsung has had success with its Vivo 5G chip relationship in 2020.”
The global smartphone AP market grew 25 percent to a record $25 billion last year, thanks to solid demand for 5G-supporting APs that accounted for more than 25 percent of all smartphone APs shipped in 2020.
There was also increased demand for 7nm and 5nm APs, which benefited foundry firms, like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), as well as Samsung.
