Chief Marketing Officer, Qualcomm, Anand Chandrasekher. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images
Qualcomm holds a well-acknowledged lead in the mobile processor market; it occupies the top spot for chips in smartphones and other mobile devices. So its development and product launches are seen as a barometer for the future progress of the global mobile processing industry, and November 20′s issuance of a flock of new chips (ahead of its quarterly earnings) has analysts looking towards the future functionalities of mobile devices and the global markets in which they are continuing to flourish.
The goal with smartphone processors is always more power in a smaller size, and Qualcomm’s latest additions to its line of Snapdragon chips will reportedly feature high-quality video support as well as better graphics capacity that will enable faster downloading times, and high definition video recording and playback on mobile devices. Such chips are well positioned to take off as the mobile video market surges; YouTube is the most popular mobile application, and video is growing to become one of the primary ways in which users access the internet on a global scale. Industry forecasters have long predicted the domination of video over mobile well into 2015, and it seems to be fleshing out.
The LTE wireless market is also an increasingly competitive space as networks continue to add 4G-ready cities to their networks in the U.S., a trend more slowly taking off in the U.K., and what is beginning to get off its feet in China. Chinese mobile operators — China Mobile in particular — are escalating investment into the market for 4G LTE, pouring billions into infrastructure that will support high speed wireless as the technology for its capacity begins to exceed the network capacity to handle such communications. And, indeed, it is in the Chinese market that many see the future of smartphone growth as 4G buildout continues. Part of Qualcomm’s latest product push includes high-speed wireless connectivity in its processors aimed at higher-end smartphones, and while the Chinese market traditionally favors less expensive smartphones, its chip technology often has a ripple effect on other manufacturers’ innovations.
The competition has not been left completely in the dust; names including Samsung, Nvidia, ARM Holdings, and MediaTek are a few companies that continue to release mobile processing technology that raises the bar for better graphics on smartphones and faster communication for most mobile devices. Even the mighty Apple is reportedly second to Qualcomm in the market for smartphone apps processors. But Qualcomm’s rate of production and quality thereof seem to continually solidify its prowess in mobile chips. If only it could engineer the same success for its smartwatch.
