Qualcomm had 42% smartphone AP market share in H1

Qualcomm had 42% of the smartphone AP market in H1, followed by Apple and Mediatek with 18% each, says Strategy Analytics.

The market declined 5% y-oy to reach $9.4 billion in the first half of 2017.

“After a successful 2016, Qualcomm continued its momentum and gained market share with the help of a strengthened portfolio across the board from flagship to mid-range,” says SA’s Sravan Kundojjala, “after missing the initial 14nm FinFET AP wave, Qualcomm made sure it is one of the first companies with a commercial 10nm smartphone AP.”

Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 835, a 10nm 64-bit chip integrating a gigabit-class LTE modem, has seen greater success than its predecessor Snapdragon 820/821. Strategy Analytics also believes that Qualcomm is poised for further share gains through 2017 with its strengthened Snapdragon 600-series of APs.

MediaTek’s recovery will take time as its associated modem technology is still generations behind market leader Qualcomm, Strategy Analytics indicated. MediaTek’s flagship Helio X series has not seen much success so far, while the mid-range Helio P series of chips performed strongly.

“Understandably, MediaTek is set to de-emphasise Helio X in favor of Helio P to optimize its investment and to recover market share in 2H 2017,” says SA’s Stuart Robinson, “MediaTek hit a rough patch in 1H 2017, after registering a robust growth in 2016. MediaTek’s weak portfolio coupled with increased competition from Qualcomm contributed to its share losses in 1H 2017.”

64-bit APs grew 24% y-o-y and accounted for 86% of total smartphone AP shipments in H1