MediaTek launched its first flagship 5G chipset, the MediaTek Dimensity 1000, earlier last month. It comes with an integrated 5G modem and is expected to make way into phones from the likes of Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi (an important supporter, who baked Helio G90T into the Redmi Note 8 Pro) in the coming months. But, a fresh report in ChinaTimes now suggests that MediaTek is looking to onboard Samsung as one of its customers.
If the rumors are true, this is a huge deal for MediaTek, who is finally on the way to find solid footing in the smartphone market. The report says that MediaTek and Samsung are already in talks about a possible partnership. The chipmaker is rumored to have sent out samples for Samsung to test in its A-series phones launching next year.
Samsung regained some of the lost market share in the budget and mid-range segment with its M-series and A-series phones in 2019. Galaxy A50 is regarded as the company’s best-selling phone in the mid-range segment. It looks like Samsung aims to keep up the momentum while introducing more reliable and affordable 5G phones via its A-series and other lineups.
This is where MediaTek’s new and affordable 5G smartphone chips such as MT6885 and MT6873, which are expected to be introduced in the second half of 2020, will come into play. Also, Samsung is known to have pulled out of China, shuttering its factories, and is now preparing to outsource part of its low-end and mid-range smartphone production to ODM partners.
The Korean giant currently employs its Exynos chipsets in most of its mid-range phones, but the rising popularity of MediaTek chipsets (thanks to Helio G90T) and its scheme to outsource production could help lower costs and attract more users to its new Galaxy A-series phones next year. There’s also a possibility that MediaTek will court orders for the Dimensity 1000 5G chipset from Samsung. It could turn out to be a win-win situation for both MediaTek and Samsung in the long run.
