In January, during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Qualcomm unveiled its latest highend chip—the Snapdragon 835—which it said is also aimed at the connected-devices market. The chip not only improves the performance of the next generation of smartphones but includes the ability to support augmented reality and virtual reality, boasts a longer battery life and smaller footprint, which will be attractive to makers of connected devices. In conjunction with the launch of the new chip, Qualcomm said Osterhout Design Group, a developer and manufacturer of mobile head-worn computing and augmented reality technologies’ latest smartglasses, will have the Snapdragon 835 processor inside. In a Wall Street Journal report, a spokesman at Qualcomm said the Snapdragon 835 processor will also be used in a new voice-enabled home appliance and a smart baby monitor.
Qualcomm: New Wi-Fi Chip Addresses IoT Deluge | Investopedia
According to a research report issued by Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang, which was covered by Barron’s, Qualcomm stands to gain market share in the Chinese market thanks to its Snapdragon processors. The chips are used in smartphones by Vive and Oppo, two Chinese manufactures that are enjoying a boom in sales, which will bode well for the chipmaker. “We believe Qualcomm’s Snapdragon shipments largely increased in 1Q17 due to design wins from Vivo and OPPO. We expect Qualcomm to ship around [28 million] Snapdragon 825 units in March 2017 in China versus [8 million] in March of 2016,” wrote the analyst. He went on to predict Qualcomm’s market share will jump to 65% in 2017 from 50% in 2016. The analyst said Qualcomm should get more business from Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Meizu, all of reached patent agreements with Qualcomm. The analyst noted Qualcomm also has “stable” market share with Samsung and the potential to increase its market share with Apple’s iPhone 8.
Qualcomm Poised to Gain In China Smartphone Market | Investopedia