Samsung has been making waves as of late due to the critical acclaim of their latest flagship handset, Galaxy S8 and its bigger version, Galaxy S8 Plus. On top of that, people are also anticipating the launch of the Note 8, rumored to finally feature the much-awaited dual rear cameras. However, the Korean stalwart is making waves as of late, not about their smartphones, but because they are poised to supplant Intel as the world's largest chipmaker.
Intel has been go-to for semiconductors since January 1993. It wrestled the top spot from Japanese names NEC and Toshiba. It was at that time when they released their first line of Pentium processors, Extreme Tech notes. Ever since they have been on the lead and of course, that translates to huge revenues. This year, IC Insights predicts the Santa Clara, California-based company would pull in $14.4 billion in the second quarter.
But that amount is slightly lower compared to what the market research firm forecasts for Samsung. According to their analysts, Samsung would see $14.6 billion in second quarter sales. And that trend is not likely to slow down, putting the Korean tech company almost level with their American competitor. Soon, they would be at the top of the heap, considering that their semiconductor business' revenue rose to 40 percent year-over-year.
According to Ars Technica, this trend is due to the high demand for RAM and flash memory. On top of that, the market for NAND, which is experiencing a shortage, is driving prices up. Chinese smartphone makers especially are clamoring for more of that specific chip.
In addition, Samsung is seeing a lot of demand for their 14nm SoCs. Their image sensors and other smartphone-related chip are also gaining ground. Since they have also started making 10nm chips, their business is only going to boom.
On the other hand, Intel's semiconductor business is experiencing a slowdown. They have tried to change their processors to suit smartphones and wearable devices to no avail. Plus, Samsung is a stiff competitor when it comes to price and performance. Soon enough, Intel will no longer bear the crown as the world's largest chipmaker.
