MediaTek Faces Major Impact from Memory Crisis: Over 50% of Revenue Dependent on SoC Shipments

In the competitive landscape of smartphone chipsets, MediaTek has established itself as a frontrunner, recently surpassing Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung in shipment volumes for several consecutive quarters. However, this dominance may be jeopardized by an impending DRAM shortage, which is poised to negatively impact MediaTek’s SoC shipments. This scenario is particularly concerning as the company is set to unveil its Dimensity 9600 chip later this year, potentially its most expensive silicon to date, utilizing TSMC’s groundbreaking 2nm process.

MediaTek’s Revenue Dependency and the Impact of Rising Component Costs

For the third quarter of 2025, smartphone chipsets constituted a staggering 53% of MediaTek’s overall revenue, amplifying the risks associated with the soaring prices of DRAM and NAND flash memory, which have surged by 70% and 100%, respectively. According to reports from Chosun, MediaTek is expected to be hit hardest by these shortages especially as Chinese manufacturers reduce their shipment forecasts, casting a shadow over an already uncertain market environment for the company, given that these manufacturers are key clients.

Adding to the pressures, MediaTek is currently developing only one flagship chipset, whereas its competitor Qualcomm is reportedly poised to introduce two new models this year: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. This disparity in offering restricts MediaTek’s options for partners and may hinder its competitive stance. While MediaTek has successfully maintained a cost advantage by employing ARM CPU and GPU designs, these designs tend to be less efficient compared to Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores.

A comparative analysis revealed that MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 exhibited inferior ‘performance per watt’ metrics against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and A19 Pro in Geekbench 6 tests. Unless MediaTek invests in developing its own cores, it may struggle to rival Qualcomm or Apple in performance and efficiency metrics. Nonetheless, the Dimensity 9500 remains significantly more affordable than the Snapdragon counterpart, indicating that MediaTek’s current strategy could be effective, though increasing smartphone shipment shortages in 2026 highlight the critical need for diversification.

Moreover, there were prior indications that MediaTek might become Apple’s primary supplier of 5G modems for its smartwatches. However, the timeline for MediaTek to develop its proprietary solution, akin to the C1, remains uncertain.

For further details, refer to the [Chosun article](https://biz.chosun.com/it-science/ict/2026/01/27/AGEJPG7PSZBN3GNKXRBC7X6LWM/) and supplementary insights from Wccftech.