At Qualcomm’s China Technology Day this week (held on 24 January), Qualcomm Technologies announced four memoranda of understanding (MoU) that could yield significant design wins for Qualcomm’s RF front-end (RFFE) components in Chinese mobile phones. The MoUs document that Lenovo, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi have expressed interest in purchasing Qualcomm’s RFFE components. Qualcomm said if the interest turns into purchases, the combined value will be at least $2 billion over three years.

Cristiano Amon, the new president of Qualcomm Incorporated, said, “Qualcomm Technologies has long supported the Chinese mobile ecosystem and today’s MoU signings with Lenovo, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi further demonstrates our commitment to that ecosystem, as well as our strategy to continue to grow our RF front-end business.”

Qualcomm holds the dominant share of processors in mobile phones and has been trying to extend its reach into the RF segment, the largest growth opportunity in the phone with the proliferation of frequency bands. During the past five years, Qualcomm has developed a suite of RF components that fit between the modem and antenna, including power amplifiers, switches, antenna tuners, envelope trackers, filters and modules integrating these components.

In a press release announcing the MoUs, Qualcomm said the company’s RFFE portfolio will help the Chinese phone manufacturers “move away from RF front-end technology based on a component approach to one focused on a system-level modem-to-antenna approach, which is required for 5G RFFE solutions.”

At the technology conference, Qualcomm discussed its 5G roadmap, including a tunable RFFE. Qualcomm described the tunable front-end as a “breakthrough” that will enable Chinese phone manufacturers to achieve thinner designs and better performance, leveraging Qualcomm’s system-level expertise.

Bottom Line

A press release announcing that a potential customer has expressed interest in purchasing a company’s products is far from a design win and purchase order. It seems to be driven by a public relations campaign — and we know Qualcomm’s image is being challenged on several fronts.

No doubt Qorvo and Skyworks will be doing everything possible to capture those same opportunities; both offer highly integrated front-end modules, have announced 5G capabilities and, I believe, have more RF credibility based on performance and heritage.

However, Qualcomm’s market leadership in mobile processors, existing relationships with phone manufacturers and the investment the company is making in RF will assure its products get evaluated and considered. By bundling the RF with the processor, either by offering a differentiated system solution or discounted pricing, Qualcomm may be able to tip the competitive balance.

It will be fascinating to watch Qualcomm’s success penetrating the Chinese phone market with its RFFE portfolio.