Data from market researcher Counterpoint Research showed about 64% of all 5G handsets priced at less than ₹30,000 shipped to India in the first half of 2024 were powered by MediaTek mobile microprocessors.
Qualcomm trailed with a 31% share. In the sub-₹30,000 5G smartphone segment, MediaTek’s market share rose by 23 percentage points in the first half of 2024 from 41% a year ago. Qualcomm’s share fell 11 percentage points from 42% in the first half of 2023.
Counterpoint estimates total 5G smartphone shipments to India at 50-52 million units in the first half of this calendar year. Of the total, 5G handsets priced at ₹8,000 to less than ₹30,000 comprised about 38-40 million or nearly 75%.Premium and super premium 5G phones-priced at more than ₹30,000 to ₹1.6 lakh-comprised the balance 25%.
“MediaTek now dominates the sub-INR 30,000 price segment, which accounts for a majority of the 5G smartphones arriving in India,” said Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak. “It has managed to lead in this segment due to a mix of competitive pricing, power-efficient chipsets and strong partnerships with Chinese OEMs (original equipment makers) that collectively hold around 75% of the sub- ₹30,000 smartphones market in India.”
He attributed the drop in Qualcomm’s market share in the sub-₹30,000 5G smartphone market to the San Diego-based chipmaker’s focus on premium and ultra-premium devices.
“Additionally, Qualcomm 6 and 7 in the mid-series saw strong competition from MediaTek’s Dimensity 6000 and 7000 series’ aggressive launches,” said Pathak.
MediaTek India managing director Anku Jain said India remains “a highly price-sensitive market” and the company’s focus on 5G technology has positioned it as a key player in the democratisation of high-speed connectivity, particularly in the budget segment.
“We have paid special heed to ensure our mainstream chipsets support premium features like 10-bit displays with impressive refresh rates, high-resolution camera sensors, fast memory and storage and powerful performance cores,” Jain told ET.
Qualcomm did not respond to ET’s queries.
Navkendar Singh, AVP, devices research at IDC Asia Pacific said MediaTek “has pulled ahead of Qualcomm in the last few quarters, and is powering a majority of 5G smartphones coming to India due to its aggressive marketing/pricing strategies and ability to grab deals in some high volume smartphone models from China-based brands”.
Qualcomm meanwhile continues to dominate the microprocessor market for premium and super-premium 5G handsets with a 35% market share compared to MediaTek’s 14%. This segment is also dominated by Apple and Samsung with around 27% and 24% market share respectively, as per Counterpoint.
Pathak, though, said “Qualcomm is trying to make a comeback in the 5G budget phones segment with the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 (chip) to power 5G smartphones priced below ₹10,000 coupled with design wins with Motorola, Vivo and iQOO”.
