Amid the ongoing revolution for in-house components, the world’s top chipmakers, MediaTek and Qualcomm, still have an iron grip over the industry. And, with global chip shortages plaguing the industry, the biggest semiconductor companies maintain their upward trend. The latest quarterly report confirms that. According to the latest rankings, MediaTek is still the undisputed leader of the smartphone chip race.

Posted by Counterpoint Research, MediaTek captured a commanding 40 percent chunk of the market between July and September this year. In second place, Qualcomm got a respectable 27 percent of market share. Apple, buoyed by its own in-house chips, grabbed third place with 15 percent of the market. Unisoc, Samsung, and HiSilicon trail behind with 10 percent, 5 percent, and 2 percent, respectively.

Over last year’s performance on the same quarter, MediaTek, Apple, and Unisoc all improved their performance. The rest partially or drastically dropped off.

According to the analysis, MediaTek won the overall market by clinging to yesteryear’s standards. The company is still the leader of 4G chip distribution, capitalizing on the ongoing 5G chip shortages. That said, Qualcomm now has a stranglehold on 5G chips, capturing 62 percent of that niche. Of note, Apple currently sources its 5G modems from Qualcomm. (For comparison, MediaTek grabbed only 28 percent of 5G chip distribution.)

Another notable observation: Huawei’s tenuous grip on third place plummeted this year. From a capable 13 percent market share last year, HiSilicon now owns just a sliver of the market, 2 percent. With Huawei dropping off from ongoing American regulations, it’s no surprise that HiSilicon is also suffering.

Things might change this quarter, though. For one, the shortages are still affecting everyone in the market. Also, more smartphone makers have decided to produce their chips in-house.

SEE ALSO: MediaTek announces new Dimensity 9000 chipset

Despite Huawei’s descent down the smartphone ranks, the smartphone maker has tried carving its own stalwart community outside of the Android-dependent industry. Of course, since the company is trying to compete with others, Huawei will need a foldable phone. And one is coming. Huawei confirms that it will launch a clamshell phone, the Huawei P50 Pocket.

On Weibo, Huawei posted a teaser for a foldable clamshell phone coming on December 23. The upcoming phone is brilliantly white. Its rear has a unique diamondback pattern, giving the phone a unique position comparted to other clamshell phones in the market.

And by “other clamshell phones,” it is naturally going after the Galaxy Z Flip3. Samsung’s new foldable phone created a new sub-niche inside the already-niche market. Instead of creating another premium foldable above all smartphones, the Galaxy Z Flip3 offers a foldable phone that even casual users might appreciate.

Unfortunately, the teaser poster does not reveal the phone’s screen or the cameras. However, some rumors in the past speculate that the phone will have two rings at its rear.

Amid all the adversity, Huawei is still chugging along. The company’s latest flagship series, the P50 series, proved a capable competitor in the industry even without Google Mobile Services.

SEE ALSO: The Huawei P50 is coming to the Philippines

OPPO just made one heck of splash at the OPPO INNO Day 2021 as they officially launch the OPPO Find N – their very first foldable smartphone.

It bears some resemblance to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and also uses parts from Samsung itself. But there are plenty of notable differences. The most obvious of which is the size. The OPPO Find N seems friendlier to tinier hands as it measures at 5.49″ when folded and 7.1″ when unfolded.

Not sure if this helps you get an idea about its size but official measurements are as follows:

• Height x Weight x Thickness (Unfolded) — 132.6mm×140.2mm×8.0mm (Battery cover side), 132.6mm×140.2mm×7.8mm (Outer display side).
• Height x Weight x Thickness (Folded) — 132.6mm×73mm×15.9mm
• Weight — 275g

It has an inner and outer display. Both are AMOLED with 1000 nits peak brightness. The primary differences are in resolution and refresh rate. The inner display measures 1792×1920 at 120Hz, while the outer display measures 1972×988 at 60Hz.

There are plenty of cameras to go around too. First, the main camera module at the rear. Here are the numbers:

Main Camera:

50MP Sony IMX766 1/1.56″
f/1.8; Equivalent Focal Length 24mm; 6P Lens; OIS

Ultra Wide Camera:

16MP Sony IMX481
f/2.2; Equivalent Focal Length 14mm; 5P Lens

Telephoto Camera:

13MP Samsung S5K3M5
f/2.4; Equivalent Focal Length 52mm; 5P Lens

Naturally, that’s not all since we still have the front cameras for both the inner and outer display. Thankfully, they are the exact same cameras — 32MP Sony IMX615 f/2.4.

Everywhere else, the OPPO Find N is an undeniable flagship on paper. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip and comes in two configuration options: 8GB+256GB and 12GB+512GB. It also supports 5G connectivity and has the ColorOS 12 based on Android 11 for its operating system. Also, it has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for security.

The foldable has a 4,500mAh battery capacity with support for 33W SUPERVOOC charge (fast wired), 15W AIRVOOC (wireless charging compatible with Q), and 10W reverse charging so you can charge other accessories should it ever be necessary.

Price and availability

The OPPO Find N is currently only available in China and starts at CNY 7699.

Watch Michael Josh live react to the OPPO Find N launch.