MediaTek CEO Sees 5G Smartphone Shipments Exceeding 500M This Year

MediaTek gained “meaningful share” globally last year in 5G and Wi-Fi 6 “in the first year of the end-market takeoff” of those technologies, said CEO Rick Tsai on a Q4 call Wednesday. “We are seeing increasing Wi-Fi 6 demand in high-end routers, broadband and TV.” Laptop and Chromebook brands are adopting “MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 solutions,” he said. The first high-end Wi-Fi 6 gaming laptop “will hit the market in the first quarter with more to come,” he said. MediaTek is “on the test bed” for Wi-Fi 6E development and already has “started Wi-Fi 7 investments,” he said. For 2021, MediaTek forecasts global 5G smartphone shipments will exceed 500 million, a 250% increase over 2019, said Tsai. He estimates “at least” 60% of that growth will come from China. MediaTek launched a complete 5G “product portfolio” last year and “engaged with all global major Android smartphone brands,” he said. “Our 5G market share has already exceeded 40% in markets we serve.”