When it comes to SoCs (System on a Chip) – or for the lack of a better term – mobile processors, there are only two chipsets that dominate the Android market: Snapdragon and MediaTek. While Samsung and Google also manufacture their in-house SoCs, the market share held by Qualcomm and MediaTek vastly exceeds any other player. Even Samsung’s flagship smartphones make use of Qualcomm chipsets. Out of these two popular SoCs, Snapdragon largely dominates the flagship smartphone category, while MediaTek caters more to midrange and affordable smartphones. Therefore, the performance metrics favour Qualcomm in every regard. However, it is still interesting to see how the two chipsets fare when pitted against each other. So, without further ado, here is our Qualcomm Snapdragon vs MediaTek SoC comparison.
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Snapdragon vs MediaTek: Availability
As mentioned earlier, Snapdragon is a common fixture on flagship smartphones across different brands like Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and more. MediaTek, with its more varied chipsets, finds its way into the midrange and affordable smartphones. That said, some of the most popular smartphones in the market today make use of MediaTek. This only goes on to prove that the numbers a processor puts up aren’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to buying a smartphone.
Here are some of the most popular smartphones that use a Snapdragon SoC
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 4
- OnePlus 10 Pro
- Vivo T1
- Motorola Edge 30
Here are some of the most popular smartphones that use a MediaTek SoC
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
- Vivo V26 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy M53
- OnePlus 10R
- Poco M4 Pro
Snapdragon vs MediaTek: Pros and Cons
- Snapdragon SoCs offer better battery optimisation which translates to longer battery life compared to their MediaTek counterparts.
- Snapdragon SoCs are also favoured in flagship gaming-oriented handsets since they do not generate a lot of heat. However, MediaTek is largely popular in midrange gaming smartphones.
- MediaTek does not share the Kernel source code for most of its SoCs, which is why Snapdragon is usually a developer’s first choice.
- Snapdragon has its own in-house GPU, Adreno.
- Snapdragon SoCs regularly outperform their MediaTek counterparts in various benchmark tests.
- Snapdragon SoCs are pricier than MediaTek.
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Conclusion
While MediaTek has been absent from the flagship sphere for a while now, its newest MediaTek Dimensity 9200 SoC is bound to change that. Released in November, the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 will be competing against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform. It remains to be seen which SoC will come out on top, and which flagships will incorporate the two chipsets next year. Here is our list of upcoming smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
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The difference between Qualcomm and Mediatek is profound. Qualcomm innovates cutting edge designs and Mediatek copies Qualcomm’s designs selling a cheaper clone of Qualcomm’s design.
Some people are willing to pay for the newest technology from Qualcomm but most would rather save money buying the older design from Mediatek.
Of course, buying Mediatek means you are supporting the theft of Qualcomm’s intellectual property.