In the second quarter of 2025, application processor (AP) shipments to Chinese smartphone brands increased by 9% year-over-year and 4.8% quarter-over-quarter, slightly surpassing DIGITIMES' initial forecasts, mainly driven by Xiaomi's adoption of self-developed APs and over 100,000 unit sales of its 15S Pro smartphone.
DIGITIMES projected that in the third quarter of 2025, shipments of smartphone APs to Chinese brands will grow by 3.9% year-over-year, reflecting moderate growth compared to the same period in 2024. The momentum is tempered as some brands had advanced their inventory buildup in the second quarter to prepare for US tariff policies, which weakens shipment strength in the third quarter due to orders originally planned for the second half being fulfilled earlier.
Within the competitive landscape of China's smartphone AP market in the third quarter of 2025, Qualcomm and MediaTek will maintain their dominant positions in 5G APs.
Chart 1: Key factors affecting China smartphone AP shipments in 3Q25: Demand/Supply
Chart 2: Key factors affecting China smartphone AP shipments in 3Q25: Suppliers
Chart 12: MediaTek smartphone AP shipments, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 13: MediaTek shipments by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 14: MediaTek shipment share by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 15: MediaTek shipments by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 16: MediaTek shipment share by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 17: MediaTek shipment share by product line, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 18: Qualcomm smartphone AP shipments, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 19: Qualcomm shipments by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 20: Qualcomm shipment share by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 21: Qualcomm shipments by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 22: Qualcomm shipment share by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 23: Qualcomm shipments by product line, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 24: Qualcomm shipment share by product line, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 25: Unisoc smartphone AP shipments, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 26: Unisoc shipments by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 28: Unisoc shipments by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 30: Hisilicon smartphone AP shipments, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 31: Hisilicon shipments by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 32: Hisilicon shipment share by baseband type, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 33: Hisilicon shipments by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25 (m units)
Chart 34: Hisilicon shipment share by architecture, 2Q24-3Q25
Chart 35: Summary of AP shipments for Chinese smartphone brands
