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JEREMY HORWITZ, thank you.
Throughout 2019, Qualcomm won the business of nearly every company interested in making 5G consumer devices.
But as 2020 approaches, it will become increasingly clear that this situation will become more and more obvious as competitors Samsung and MediaTek have become the top 5G chip alternatives for device manufacturers.
To cite just one example, Vivo, China’s leading 5G smartphone vendor and India’s third-largest player, has won customers in both huge markets with premium phones.
But overnight, Vivo confirmed it has chosen Samsung’s versatile 5G chip, the Exynos 980, to power its new X30 smartphone, which will be launched next month.
Not only is this a major design win for the Exynos 980, it could be the first Samsung 5G chip to be used in a non-Samsung smartphone.
It also means the 980 will be available earlier than expected.
Samsung originally said that the chip would go into mass production at the end of 2019, with the first devices launching in early 2020.
But let’s be clear, even if it secures an order from an increasingly popular supplier, an OEM win for Samsung is unlikely to keep Qualcomm executives up at night,
as the San Diego-based chipmaker enjoyed absolute supremacy in 5G chips during 2019.
Earlier data pointed out that Qualcomm had won more than 230 5G design wins from more than 40 OEMs by the end of fiscal 2019.
But by 2020, the competition will become increasingly fierce.
The powerful features of 5G devices, and the Samsung-Vivo deal show what may happen to Chinese OEMs in the coming year.
Earlier this year, Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek launched its 5G SoC, an all-in-one chip that integrates features such as CPU, GPU, and AI to meet the needs of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G communications.
Although MediaTek has been actively testing its 5G chips with operators, there are still no known devices using its processors.
But this will change as the product is expected to go on sale in 2020.
MediaTek's initial cooperative customers are said to be from mainland China, and the company is expected to shed more light on its 5G chip plans in the near future.
Samsung isn't limiting its 5G chip plans to all-in-one SoCs, either.
Last month, the company announced the Exynos 990, which separates the CPU, GPU, and AI capabilities of its chip from a more powerful 5G modem that supports all 5G base stations currently in use - both mmWave and Sub-6 GHz frequencies.
It's unclear whether the 990 will be used exclusively in Samsung phones or if it will attract interest from third parties, but the dual-chip offering offers the best alternative to Qualcomm's offerings right now.
Another player that remains worth watching is Huawei.
The Chinese company’s 5G equipment has been effectively blacklisted in a handful of countries, but it continues to supply early 5G base stations and phones to many willing partners.
In addition, Huawei continues to actively tout its record-breaking 5G products.
Unable to sell chips directly to other companies in certain countries, Huawei is actively trying to license its 5G technology.
How this plays out remains to be seen.
It’s worth noting that Intel exited the 5G smartphone chip business in 2019 and sold most of its related shares to Apple.
In theory, Intel could have supplied Apple with 5G chips in 2020, but Qualcomm ultimately won the business.
After that, Qualcomm will benefit from Apple’s iPhone sales for at least two years, if not more, which could contribute to Qualcomm’s latest 2020 estimate of 175 million to 225 million 5G phones.
While we won’t know the full extent of its plans until the annual Snapdragon Tech Summit early next month,
persistent rumors about a more powerful successor to the Snapdragon 855+ and further single-chip Qualcomm 5G SoC solutions are all but confirmed, with the company having announced a single-chip solution in what it calls the Snapdragon 7 Series 5G Mobile Platform, meant for early 2020 devices.
Many companies will seek single-chip 5G SoC solutions to make their devices smaller and more power-efficient, but others, such as Apple, will choose to use 5G modems with separate and/or self-developed processors.
Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, and Huawei can all choose to satisfy both types of customers.
The pricing and performance of the chips may determine which manufacturers win the market in the next round of 5G devices.
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