Apple and Samsung expand chip market shares amid 21% shipment slump
MediaTek kept the largest share at 28%, while Counterpoint Research expects global smartphone chip shipments to decline again in 2027.
The global smartphone chip market contracted in Q3 2026, with shipments down 21% from a year earlier, Counterpoint Research reported. Among major vendors, only Apple and Samsung increased their market shares. The research firm did not disclose a shipment count for the quarter.
MediaTek retained the top ranking at 28%, losing 6 percentage points from a year earlier. Qualcomm followed at 22%, versus 25% previously. Third-ranked Apple reached 21%, up from 17% in Q3 2025. UNISOC's share narrowed from 14% to 13%, leaving it fourth, while fifth-ranked Samsung advanced from 6% to 8%. The combined share of other manufacturers doubled from 4% to 8%.
Counterpoint Research Senior Analyst Shivani Parashar pointed to September 2026 launches of Apple's A20 series, MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series, all using TSMC's 2nm process. She said those launches were expected to lift premium smartphone chip shipments in Q4 2026, although volumes would likely fall short of Q4 2025.
For 2026 overall, Counterpoint forecasts a 20% annual shipment decline, with an additional 3% to 4% decrease in 2027. It also anticipates further memory price increases in 2027. Separately, Apple cautioned on its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings call that continued increases in memory costs would pressure profit margins over the coming quarters.
