Mainly because Qualcomm has offered an inexpensive 4G chip solution to compete with Taiwan-based MediaTek and market competition for 4G smartphones among China-based vendors has been heating up, prices for a 4G smartphone have dropped to below US$200 and are expected to further slip to below US$100 in the first half of 2015, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

MediaTek has won general adoption of its 4G chip solutions from China-based smartphone vendors, pushing Qualcomm to offer the inexpensive Snapdragon 210 in competition, the sources said. The competition in the China market has already been intense, with some China-based vendors having launched entry-level 4G smartphones for sale at only CNY699 (US$114), the sources indicated.

In comparison, market competition for 3G smartphones is significantly less intensive than for 4G models, the sources noted. In addition, in emerging markets including Southeast Asia, Russia, Latin America and Africa, 4G networks are mostly under construction and therefore demand for 4G smartphones is much smaller than for 3G models, the sources said. Consequently, some China-based and international 4G smartphone vendors have resumed competition for 3G models in emerging markets, the sources indicated.