MediaTek and Qualcomm both unveiled their product roadmaps for the second half of 2014 at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014. In addition to the previously released ARM Cortex-A17-based octo-core MT6595, MediaTek added Cortex-A53-based,quad-core MT6732 to its portfolio. Qualcomm also added two 64-bit models to its Snapdragon 600 family, the Cortex-A53 quad-core MSM8936 and octo-core MSM8939.

　　Judging from MediaTek's roadmap, the Taiwan-based chipset vendor will also unveil a 64-bit octo-core SoC, the MT6752, which will also feature an ARM Cortex-A53 CPU that is used in Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 series.

　　Qualcomm is likely to use a 28nm LP process for production of its 64-bit CPUs for cost-down,while MediaTek is expected to roll out its MT6572 using a HKMG process for higher performance, DigitimesResearch indicated.

　　Although Qualcomm is ahead of MediaTek to unveil 64-bit chips, MediaTek's actual roll-out date for the comparable models will not be far behind that of Qualcomm's. Qualcomm may lead in the integrated LTE solution segment in the first half of 2014, but Digitimes Research believes that MediaTek will play a catchup later with a comprehensive product lineup and strong support from other partners.

　　In addition to different product roadmaps, MediaTek's and Qualcomm's growth for 2014 will also be affected by a number of variables, including policy decision of the China government, support from clients, as well as a slowdown in global mobile device market in the year.

　　Moreover, competition in the mid-range to high-end solution market will also become keener, which will be unfavorable to Qualcomm since the US-based chipset vendor has enjoyed a high market share in the high-end sector, Digitimes Research believes.