It has been found that the average sales price (ASP) of Samsung Electronics’ application processors (APs) is higher than that of Qualcomm’s. Qualcomm is currently the top in the global AP market.
This means that the price competitiveness of Qualcomm is higher than that of Samsung Electronics, which ranks fifth in the market. Experts are pointing out that Samsung could fall in the ranking with time if the high price is maintained for its products not much better than those of its competitors.
According to market research firm Strategy Analytics’ data made available on January 12, the ASP of Samsung’s AP was US$18.70 in the fourth quarter of last year, while Qualcomm’s were sold at a price of US$18.58. In the meantime, the price was US$17.11 for Apple’s products including the 64-bit A7. The international ASP was US$17.56. Nvidia’s and Intel’s were US$17.41 and US$17.21, respectively.
When it comes to the single-chip AP integrated with a communication module, Samsung’s ASP was US$25.60, whereas Qualcomm’s was US$24.08. Besides, MediaTek of Taiwan, one of the biggest competitors for Samsung, sold the chips at a unit price of as low as US$7.86. The international average was US$14.03.
Smartphone manufacturers’ consensus is that Samsung is no match for Qualcomm, considering the fact that the former’s single-chip AP Shannon 222 is a mid-market product. Although the company is intending to penetrate the mid-end market with the low-cost smartphone market growing these days, the price is still high yet the performance is not outstanding.
In the third quarter of 2013, Qualcomm accounted for 34.9% of the global AP market, while Samsung’s market share stood at 6.8%. MediaTek and Spreadtrum of China took the second and third spots each with a share of 18.5% and 15.0%. They were followed by Apple, which took up 13.7% of the market.
In short, Samsung Electronics appears to be lost between the companies manufacturing high-performance APs and those concentrating on low-price models. “This year, the mid-market segment will distinguish itself in the global smartphone market,” said a local smartphone maker, adding, “Samsung could fall behind in the race unless it overwhelms its competitors in terms of either price or performance.”