MediaTek is expected to grow its share in the global application processor (AP) market to 26.2% in 2014, slightly outpacing Qualcomm's 25.6%, according to Digitimes Research.
Smartphone-use APs currently account for nearly 80% of global AP shipments, which are dominated by top-5 suppliers, including Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple and Samsung Electronics.
Shipments of APs for tablet applications are also concentrated on a number of leading suppliers, but China-based chipset vendors have emerged as the leading suppliers in the segment thanks to brisk demand for white-box tablets in China, Digitimes Research said.
However, with regard to product development roadmaps of major suppliers, chance is high for MediaTek to lead all vendors in shipments of smartphone- and tablet-use APs in 2014, although it may lag others in the LTE segment.
Qualcomm will benefit from the rapid development of the LTE market in 2014 and continue focusing on medium- to high-end AP sector, while Apple will see its market share decline progressively as its products will continue to face strong competition from the Android camp in the end-market for smart devices, Digitimes Research commented.
This article is an excerpt from a Digitimes Research Special Report (2014 global mobile application processor market forecast). Visit our latest Special reports.