Qualcomm vs MediaTek in the Affordable 5G Chipset Arena

Catalyzing Accessibility: Qualcomm’s Partnership for Affordable 5G Chipsets, Aiming to Reduce Phone Prices to Rs 8,000 (PHP 5,428) and Reach Rs 7,000 (PHP 4,742) by Festive Season.

The contest for dominance in the market of budget-friendly 5G chipsets for mobile phones is now in full swing between India’s two leading chip design giants, Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Empowered by the latest Snapdragon 4G Gen 2 chipset, Xiaomi is gearing up to introduce the first smartphone under Rs 10,000 (PHP 6,775) with the Poco M6. This device will be available for purchase starting August 9 through various retail outlets and exclusively on Flipkart.

The recent offering from American chip manufacturer Qualcomm has also been harnessed to drive the Redmi 12, a 5G smartphone that hit the market on August 5 with an attractive price tag of Rs 10,999 (PHP 7,446).

On the debut day, more than two lakh units of the Redmi 12 flew off the shelves via different retail channels, including Amazon and M1 online platforms, with stocks depleting rapidly, according to market analysts.

According to Qualcomm, this is the inaugural chip in the series fabricated on a 4-nanometer process, delivering a 10 percent improvement in performance compared to its forerunners.

Yet, challenging Qualcomm’s stance is the Taiwanese giant MediaTek, which recently unveiled the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+. This chipset is also tailored for budget-friendly 5G smartphones. While the company has stated that the initial smartphones featuring the new chipset will arrive in Q3 of 2023, sources suggest that a phone equipped with this chipset will hit the market by the end of the month. This narrow gap between the launches in India leaves little breathing room for the two chipset giants.