Smartphone Chip Shipments Drop 21% as Apple Gains While Rivals Slide
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 30, 2026.
Memory inflation is killing the budget phone, and the chip vendors levered to it are paying: Qualcomm and MediaTek each gave up three to six points of share while Apple picked up four.
Counterpoint says global smartphone processor shipments fell 21% YoY in Q3 as rising memory costs pushed manufacturers to cut cheaper models. • MediaTek's market share fell from 34% to 28% • Qualcomm's $QCOM declined from 25% to 22% • Apple's increased from 17% to 21%
- Replies0
- Reposts0
- Likes1
Continue ReadingShow less
Counterpoint's Q3 data shows global smartphone processor shipments fell 21% year over year, with rising memory costs forcing manufacturers to pull back on cheaper handsets. That pullback hit the budget-tier chip vendors hardest, because their volume depends on exactly the low-cost models that got cut first.
MediaTek absorbed the steepest share loss, dropping from 34% to 28% in a single quarter, and Qualcomm gave ground as the same budget-phone contraction trimmed its addressable market.
Sponsored
Apple moved in the opposite direction, expanding its processor share from 17% to 21%. That gain reflects the relative resilience of premium smartphone demand: consumers buying flagship iPhones are less sensitive to memory cost inflation than buyers shopping at the low end.
For investors tracking either Qualcomm or MediaTek, the key question going forward is whether memory prices stabilize enough to revive budget handset builds. Until that happens, the shipment data suggests Apple's share of the processor market has room to stay elevated at the expense of the vendors more exposed to volume-driven segments.