Qualcomm chipsets remained the industry leader in cellular and smartphone apps processors in 2014, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics.
Although Qualcomm continues to dominate the LTE baseband processor space holding a unit share of about 80% in the third quarter of 2014, that’s down from 95% in Q3 of 2013. MediaTek overtook Marvell to take the No. 2 spot; Spreadtrum and Intel rounded out the top five.
Strategy Analytics’ Associate Director Sravan Kundojjala noted that Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon and Gobi chips, coupled with expansion of LTE in China, account for the manufacturer’s continued dominance.
“Strategy Analytics believes that despite increasing competition in the LTE baseband market, Qualcomm continues to do well with its leading-edge product portfolio and strong relationships with handset manufacturers,” Kundojjala said.
Qualcomm also took the No. 1 spot in shipments of smartphone applications processors, while HiSilicon and Intel both experienced triple-digit year-over-year growth.
Strategy Analytics staff determined that the smartphone applications processors market grew 16% in 2014 to reach a value of $5.6 billion.
In terms of units shipped, Qualcomm, Apple, MediaTek, Spreadtrum and Samsung comprise the top five manufacturers. Qualcomm holds a 51% revenue share in that market, followed by Apple with 19%.
There was a bit of a shakeup when it comes to tablet applications processors with Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung, in that order, shipping the most units last year.
Kundojjala said that Intel’s market share growth was driven by continued adoption of Android-based tablets rather than the near-ubiquitous iPad.
Strategy Analytics’ executive director Stuart Robinson said: “During Q3 2014, low-cost Chinese and Taiwanese table AP companies including Actions Semiconducter, Allwinner, MediaTek, Spreadtrum, Rockchip and others increased their cumulative volume share to 36% compared to 29% in Q3 2013. Strategy Analytics forecasts continued momentum for these vendors in 2015, too.”
