After a period of contraction in the global smartphone market, the fourth quarter of this year seems to be ushering in signs of recovery. According to market research firm Counterpoint, smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of this year are expected to increase by 3% year-on-year. IDC analyst Guo Tianxiang also said that with the adjustment of the ** chain and channel inventory and the promotion of year-end activities, the global and Chinese smartphone markets are likely to return to positive growth in Q4.
The competition in the terminal market is not only a contest between mobile phone manufacturers, but also changes in the market environment and product structure will also have an impact on upstream chip manufacturers. The latest data shows that MediaTek occupies the top spot in the industry with a 33% market share, while Qualcomm dominates the smartphone AP market with a 40% increase in revenue share with its flagship processors.
It is worth noting that the big sales of the Huawei Mate 60 series have brought Huawei HiSilicon back to the top five in the market with a revenue share of 3% in the third quarter. It is expected that by the end of this year, Huawei's Mate60 series shipments will reach 20 million units, and Huawei's annual mobile phone shipments are expected to be 40 million-50 million units. The upcoming Huawei nova12 series will further drive HiSilicon's revenue growth.
At present, the competition pattern of the mobile phone processor market is clear, Apple's A-series processors are exclusively for iPhone, and the Android camp is mainly contested by Qualcomm and MediaTek. Although MediaTek has a market share of 33%, it does not have an advantage in terms of revenue due to the fact that its product line is mainly concentrated in the middle and low end. In contrast, Qualcomm dominates in revenue share with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and mid-range flagship processors.
With the development of AI technology, the high-end competition of mobile phone chip manufacturers has shifted to "AI phone". Counterpoint expects generative AI smartphone shipments to be around 47 million units in 2023 and is expected to exceed 100 million units by 2024. MediaTek and Qualcomm have both shown their emphasis on and investment in AI capabilities, and end-to-end AI capabilities will become an important driving force to reshape the mobile phone processor landscape.
The return of Huawei HiSilicon has attracted the attention of the market. Although its market share is less than 02%, but with the hot sales of the Mate60 series, HiSilicon gained a 3% revenue share in the third quarter. Huawei's strong comeback has not only affected other mobile phone brands, but also upstream chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek.
With the advent of the AI phone era, the mobile phone processor market may usher in a new pattern. Mobile phone manufacturers have released new flagship products equipped with large models on the device side to meet consumers' demand for new technologies. Qualcomm and MediaTek have also released their latest flagship chips that can run large models on the device side.
However, the development of AI Phone also needs to be wary of the situation that the gimmick is greater than the actual situation in the industry. Chip and terminal manufacturers need to work together to improve efficiency through software and hardware optimization, so as to avoid the extension of the replacement cycle in the terminal market caused by blindly loading AI chips.
In general, the global smartphone market is showing a trend of recovery after a contraction, and the competition among chip manufacturers in the AI phone era is becoming more and more intense. The return of Huawei HiSilicon has added new variables to the market, and the application of AI technology has brought opportunities to reshape the mobile phone processor market. In this innovation-driven, long-cycle industry, whoever can seize the opportunity to provide products and technologies that truly meet consumer needs will stand out from the competition.
So what do you think about this?Everyone is welcome to pay attention and leave a message in the comment area. Huawei HiSilicon is back in the top five in the industry