Most of you know that Qualcomm is the leading manufacturer and supplier of mobile chipsets. With the introduction of its Snapdragon 835, the company has garnered an even bigger market share as opposed to the Helio X30. However, Samsung is also known for producing its own chipsets and the South Korean firm could have easily supplied its SoCs to various smartphone manufacturers and become a direct competitor of Qualcomm. According to the latest report, it looks like Qualcomm might have prevented Samsung from taking this step in the first step.
South Korean Fair Trade Commission Explains That Qualcomm Blocked Samsung From Selling Its Exynos Chipsets to Other Phone Manufacturers
If Samsung started supplying its Exynos chipsets to other manufacturers ranging from LG, Xiaomi, OPPO and several others, Qualcomm would be in a terrible spot right now. Given that Samsung not only produces its own chipsets but has several foundries to mass produce 10nm FinFET chips for the production of Exynos SoCs, the tech giant would have the edge over Qualcomm, if not for one tiny detail.
According to The Korea Economic Daily, Qualcomm abused the ‘standard essential patent’ license to prevent Samsung from selling its modems and integrated chipsets for around 25 years. According to the source, this is considered as an unfair practice and has been confirmed by the Fair Trade Commission.
“Samsung Electronics has been blocked from selling its modem chipsets to other smartphone manufacturers due to a license deal it signed with Qualcomm.”
Though Samsung does supply its Exynos chipsets to MEIZU, the Chinese manufacturer does not have a significant market share where it will actually threaten Qualcomm’s dominance. Looking at how there is a scarcity of Snapdragon 835 supplies coupled with the fact that Exynos 8895 performs slightly better in benchmarking tests, phone manufacturers would have lined up to partner with Samsung if it meant announcing a true 2017 flagship at the earliest time.
To recap, the Fair Trade Commission had decided to fine Qualcomm $865 million over antitrust violations, which stated that the company violated the law of competition, but the chipset manufacturer intends to appeal the decision.
Do you feel that Qualcomm’s market share would dwindle had Samsung supplied Exynos 8895 chipsets to other manufacturers? Let us know right away.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
