Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to lose its share in the smartphone chipset market this year, a report showed Tuesday, as Taiwanese and US rivals are to expand their presence with a rise in the 5G device sector.

Samsung was estimated to take an 8 percent share in the global smartphone application processor (AP)/System on Chip (SoC) market in 2021, down 11 percent from a year earlier, to take the fourth spot, according to a report from industry tracker Counterpoint Research,

The South Korean tech titan, which makes Exynos chipsets, was the only two brands, along with China's HiSilicon Technologies Co., to see its market share decline, the report showed.

Taiwan's MediaTek Inc. was projected to expand its leadership with a market share of 37 percent, up from 32 percent a year earlier, followed by US telecommunications chip giant Qualcomm Inc., whose market share was predicted to grow 31 percent from 28 percent a year ago.

Apple Inc. was projected to stay in the third spot with a 16 percent share, up from 15 percent a year ago.

Counterpoint Research said global AP/SoC shipments will grow 3 percent on-year, and leading-edge nodes, including 7 nanometers and below, will account for almost half of the smartphone shipment volume this year.

The report also showed Samsung's presence in the fast-growing 5G smartphone chipset market this year was expected to stay at 10 percent, while others were forecast to increase their shares.

MediaTek's share in the 5G smartphone chipset market was projected to grow to 28 percent from 15 percent, while that of Apple was estimated to reach 29 percent in 2021, up from 25 percent a year earlier.

Qualcomm was expected to take a 30 percent share in the 5G smartphone chipset market, up from 28 percent a year ago, to defend its leading position.

"In an ideal scenario, Qualcomm's market share in the 5G segment would have been even higher if it did not face the unfortunate supply constraints in the first half of 2021," said Parv Sharma, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research. "MediaTek leveraging TSMC and its affordable 5G portfolio is well-positioned to almost double its market share in the 5G smartphone SoC/AP segment." (Yonhap)