Samsung has been increasing its reliance on the semiconductor business to drive growth. This has been necessitated by the intense competition and shrinking margins in the smartphone business. However, it’s not all smooth sailing.

A new report predicts that Samsung could actually lose its position in the smartphone chipset market this year. Its share of the global smartphone AP (application processor) and SoC (System on Chip) market is expected to decline in 2021.

No significant improvement expected for 5G chips too

Market tracker Counterpoint Research predicts that Samsung will account for 8 percent of the AP and SoC market in 2021. This will be down from the 11 percent market share that Samsung held in the last year.

Samsung is highlighted as one of the only two brands that will see their market share reduce in 2021. MediaTek is expected to carry its momentum into 2021, seeing an increase from 32 to 37 percent this year. Qualcomm and Apple, both fabless chipmakers like MediaTek, will also see a slight improvement in their market share.

The rise of competitive 5G phones at lower price points will aid MediaTek is expanding its market share this year. It will also benefit from supply constraints that others have been facing.

Even though the 5G smartphone chipset market continues to grow, it’s predicted that Samsung won’t see its piece of the pie increase significantly. Much like 2020, the company’s share of the 5G smartphone AP/SoC market is expected to remain at 10 percent.