According to Counterpoint Research‘s most current market data for the second quarter of 2023, MediaTek still has the largest share of the global smartphone Application Processor (AP) market. This was the 12th quarter in a row that MediaTek was the leader in this area.
In the second quarter of 2023, 30% of the market was owned by MediaTek, and 29% was owned by Qualcomm. With a 19% share of the market, Apple got a big piece of it, and UNISOC had a 15% part that stood out. On the other hand, Samsung had 7% of the market, which shows how fierce and changing the smartphone AP market is right now.
MediaTek has been successful for a long time because they have made smart moves in the market. In the second quarter of 2023, they had a small rise in sales, mostly because they were so strong in the mid- to low-end market. With the release of new models like the Dimensity 6000 and 7000 series and the high-end Dimensity 9200 Plus, MediaTek strengthened their place across a range of price ranges.
In the same quarter, Qualcomm also saw an increase in shipments. This was due to big companies like Samsung and Chinese makers using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. Once Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 series came out, they made Qualcomm more visible in the market. Updates to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 lines also helped them get back some of their lost market share.
This happened to Samsung too, with more APs being shipped in the second quarter of 2023. This was because the Exynos 1330 and 1380 processors were released. People who bought low-end and mid-range smartphones both liked these chips. During this time, however, Apple’s sales went down, mostly because of the time of year.
After a slow start to the year, UNISOC saw a rise in sales in the second quarter of 2023. As more people in places like Europe buy cheap 5G smartphones, UNISOC will be able to get a bigger part of the market in the second half of 2023.
