For a few years now it has been reported that Samsung is considering sourcing processors from MediaTek for its low-end devices, particularly its Tizen-powered handsets. The company either uses its own Exynos or Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors for Android handsets and also sources from relatively unknown suppliers like Spreadtrum for Tizen smartphones. MediaTek is the largest supplier of processors to OEMs in China so it certainly knows what it's doing. We last heard almost two years ago that Samsung and MediaTek had “made progress little by little in some direction” on a potential deal and one appears to have been reached now.
According to Nikkei, MediaTek Chairman Tsai Ming-kai was recently asked by reporters at a tech forum to comment on the Galaxy Note 7's battery debacle. His reply reveals that both companies are now working together. “It is not possible for me to comment on (Samsung Note 7's explosions) as Samsung is a customer,” Ming-kai said. This happens to be the first time that a top executive at MediaTek has confirmed a business relationship with Samsung. He did not clarify which components MediaTek will be supplying to the Korean giant but it's most likely going to be mobile chips. Previous reports have suggested that low-end and mid-range Samsung handsets with MediaTek processors could arrive by 2017.
Analyst Arisa Liu at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research predicts that MediaTek's global market share will increase as a result of its relationship with Samsung as the conglomerate “can make as much as 10% of MediaTek's mobile chip shipments starting next year.”
