Qualcomm's Shipments to China Slashed by US Sanctions

MediaTek overtook Qualcomm as the largest supplier of smartphone system-on-chips to China during 2020. Qualcomm recorded a 48 percent fall in shipments year-on-year partly due to US restrictions on Huawei.

A report released by Shanghai-based CINNO Research estimated total shipments for the Chinese market at 307 million units in 2020, down almost 21 percent year-on-year. Although not breaking down numbers for each manufacturer, it highlighted the decline in Qualcomm’s shipments along with a 17.5 percent drop in HiSilicon’s figures, also attributed to the US restrictions.

In contrast,  MediaTek’s shipments showed explosive growth, elevating it top spot for the first time. CINNO Research attributed MediaTek’s rise to support from China’s largest domestic manufacturers, especially for its mid-tier processors. At the end of 2019 the research company estimated Qualcomm held a 37.9 percent share of the market, followed by HiSilicon (35 percent) and MediaTek (17.4 percent). By end 2020, MediaTek’s share had increased to 31.7 percent followed by HiSilicon (27.2 percent) and Qualcomm (25.4 percent).