Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was the leading global semiconductor manufacturer for the January-March period according to: Counterpoint Researchthe latest report. TSMC reportedly controlled 70% of the application processor (AP), system-on-chip (SoC), and cellular modems moving to smartphone chipsets. Samsung Foundry came in second with a 30% market share.
Global Share of Smartphone Chipsets by Foundry (Q1 2022)
The global smartphone chipset market saw a 5% drop in shipments compared to the first quarter of 2021, although revenues for the same period were up 23% this time around. Interestingly enough, TSMC-sourced chipsets were down 9% year-over-year. Samsung had the upper hand in terms of the market share of smartphone chipset nodes for Q1 2022 at 60%, largely powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Leading Nodes of Smartphone Chipsets (Q1 2021 vs Q1 2022)
TSMC is expected to dominate the rest of the year with its 4nm node used in the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Qualcomm, MediaTek and Apple are expected to use TSMC’s 4nm process node.