China smartphone AP shipments, 1Q 2025

Total shipments of smartphone application processors (APs) to the Chinese market are projected to grow by 4.5% quarter-on-quarter and 8.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, driven by early stocking by brand vendors ahead of third-quarter demand and the launches of MediaTek's Dimensity 9400+ and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, according to a DIGITIMES estimate.

As Chinese smartphones are not widely sold in the US, American import tariff policies have minimal impact on Chinese 5G AP shipments. Overall, there is little change in the landscape of the Chinese smartphone AP market in the second quarter, with 5G AP shipments continuing to drive growth trends.

DIGITIMES notes that China's domestic demand remains sluggish, youth unemployment is high, and the effect of subsidy policies is fading, so 5G AP shipments in the second quarter of 2025 will still face pressure. On the other hand, overseas markets are seeing growth due to early stocking by brand vendors and the growing number of 5G users worldwide, supporting a positive outlook for 5G AP shipments.