Why Is MediaTek Bad For Smartphones?

Abhishek Kumar
4 min readSep 24, 2021

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Millions of people across the world do still have questions like “Why is MediaTek bad?” or “Why is Snapdragon better than MediaTek?” and I thought, let me hush all your queries because more than questions, they seem to be stern assertions or opinions from people who do not wish to bring a change in their belief.

MediaTek has been one of the top performers as far as the chipsets are concerned and this brand is the 5th largest fabless semiconductor manufacturing company in the world if you take into account the different chipsets it manufactures for all kinds of gadgets.

Let’s Check the Facts:

Talking particularly about smartphones, MediaTek has a market share of 43% as far the smartphones it powers are concerned, as of September 2021 and this is the highest in the market, even more than Qualcomm Snapdragon’s market share.

And if you look at the scenario in 2022, MediaTek is still one of the best performers in the market. As of Quarter 2 in 2022, MediaTek had a market share of 39% as compared to 29% of Qualcomm — its nearest counterpart.

The hottest change in the trends was seen in the US market where the scenario is seeing a shift considerably. As per the sources, MediaTek saw a considerable rise in the US market. The market share of the brand in the US market, as of April 2022, was 45% and MediaTek is inching closer to Qualcomm which is at a minor lead with a 47% market share.

So I would say, all these questions are purely the misconceptions of people and here, I would make an effort to bust some more of these misconceptions relating to MediaTek chipsets that are still prevalent in the market:

Why is MediaTek Bad?

As of 2022–23 and beyond, it is important to know that MediaTek chipsets are extremely powerful and not at all bad for smartphones or any other device they power.

MediaTek chipsets power all sorts of small and big gadgets, right from Amazon Echo devices to Google Home smart speakers, from Apple earphones to Samsung smart TVs, from Wi-Fi Routers to Lenovo Chromebooks, from Xiaomi smart TVs to Motorola smartphones, and over 2 billion such products in a year.

Do you think if Mediatek chipset was bad, it would have been trusted by some of the tech giants that are second to none? And this itself proves that MediaTek chipsets are not at all bad.

Why is Snapdragon Better than MediaTek?

Qualcomm Snapdragon and MediaTek are the two big players in the world market, as far as the brands that manufacture smartphone chipsets are concerned. And you already saw that MediaTek has overpowered Snapdragon in terms of the number of smartphones they power.

This means MediaTek is now trusted more by people all across the world and after the launch of MediaTek gaming chipsets, this trust saw new heights.

So the moral of the story is that brand names do not matter much these days and you need to pick the best specifications while also seeing the real-life performances of the smartphone chipsets. Do not let the YouTube tech videos fool you because many of them could be paid.

Why is MediaTek Better than Snapdragon?

By now, you might be thinking that MediaTek is my bias. However, as I aforementioned, do not go on the names of the brand and trust particular chipsets more than the brand names.

Of late, MediaTek’s budget and mid-range chipsets are enjoying a good reputation in the smartphone market and after the launch of MediaTek Dimensity series chipsets, the reputation multiplied. While Qualcomm has been focusing on the flagships, it lost control in the budget segment and somewhat even in the mid-range.

And this was the major reason why MediaTek could easily overpower Snapdragon as far as smartphones are concerned.

Still though, there is tough competition between the two chipset brand and if you still believe that MediaTek chipsets are bad, you need to get over this already.

MediaTek has been doing great as far as smartphones are concerned and it is powering several other gadgets as well. You never know, the smartwatch or the smart TV or the Wi-Fi router you might be using at the moment could be powered by a MediaTek chipset. Good qualities matter, good names — not so much.

So while 2022 is nearing its end and as we knock on the doors to 2023, I think MediaTek is not at all bad for any device you use at home or at any other place. The growing market share of MediaTek in 2022 is definitely an indication that MediaTek will continue adding feathers to its cap in 2023 and even beyond.

What is your view on this growth by MediaTek in the recent years?

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Abhishek Kumar

A Passionate Writer with love for Technology. I love discovering new gadgets and writing about smartphones. However, do not let technology take away your sleep.