The cellular baseband processor market grew 9 percent to $5.2 billion in Q1 2020, according to Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service report.
Qualcomm has baseband market share of 42 percent in Q1 2020 followed by HiSilicon with 20 percent and MediaTek with 14 percent.
5G baseband shipments powered the baseband market to revenue growth as 5G basebands command a significant premium over 4G basebands.
5G baseband shipments accounted for almost 10 percent of total baseband shipments in Q1 2020 but captured up to 30 percent of total baseband revenues.
4G baseband shipments declined for the seventh consecutive quarter in Q1 2020 as device vendors continue to prioritize 5G over 4G. Despite the decline, the 4G segment continues to represent an attractive volume opportunity for baseband vendors.
Qualcomm solidified its 5G market share leadership with its second-generation 5G products including the X55 slim modem and Snapdragon 765/G 5G SoCs.
Strategy Analytics estimates that Qualcomm shipped more 5G basebands in Q1 2020 than the company shipped in all of 2019, driven by significant flagship and mid-range 5G launches by its customers including Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Others.
“Despite the pandemic, Qualcomm managed to post revenue growth in its baseband business, thanks to high average selling prices for 5G chips,” Sravan Kundojjala, associate director at Strategy Analytics, said.
MediaTek gained share in 4G LTE basebands with the help of its Helio P, A and G range of 4G chips. MediaTek’s Dimensity-branded 5G chips have received acceptance from 5G phone makers in Q1 2020.
“We expect MediaTek to gain market share with the help of its 4G and 5G share gains in the next few quarters. MediaTek is well-positioned to gain share at Huawei for now in the wake of restrictions on Huawei’s chip unit’s ability to manufacture chips at TSMC,” said Stuart Robinson, executive director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service.
Both HiSilicon and Samsung LSI performed well in the global 5G baseband market in Q1. Vivo used Samsung LSI’s mobile chip.