Second-quarter 2019 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China showed 39.1% sequential growth, higher than previously expected, buoyed by early inventory ramp-up in anticipation of rising US-China trade tensions.

Smartphone AP shipments to China slid 29.3% sequentially in first-quarter 2019 under the influence of system integrators' inventory adjustment and fewer working days.

Amid bleak outlook for downstream vendors, uncertainties surrounding the US-China trade tension, factory relocation and exchange rate volatility, global smartphone application processor (AP) shipments may experience further decline in 2019, down two years in row, according to Digitimes Research estimates. Qualcomm and Hisilicon will still be able to show moderate growth in their market shares.

Smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China in fourth-quarter 2018 declined 10% quarter over quarter with system manufacturers adjusting shipment targets downward.

Having posted a sequential gain of 13.9% in the third quarter of 2018, shipments of smartphone-use application processors in China are expected to decrease 4.6% in the fourth quarter as smartphone vendors have become more conservative on pulling in orders due to lower visibility in demand in the end market, according to Digitimes Research.

This DIGITIMES Special Report provides insights into various aspects of the smartphone AP market, including suppliers' shipments, market shares, manufacturing processes, and the incorporating of AI in the processors.

With smartphone vendors putting in aggressive efforts toward second-half sales in an attempt to reach their whole-year objectives, smartphone AP shipments will likely benefit from high season effects in the third quarter.

According to surveys Digitimes Research conducted in China in March 2018, shipments of smartphone application processors (AP) in China will show a rebound in the second quarter of 2018.

Digitimes Research estimates total shipments of smartphone application processors (AP) worldwide will grow 1.5% on year to 1.67 billion units in 2018. The slowing growth in the smartphone market means global smartphone AP shipments will only grow at a mild pace in the next few years, reaching 1.77 billion units in 2021. The report shows that Qualcomm will continue reigning at No. 1 in terms of vendor rankings in 2018, followed by MediaTek. But in-house-developed chips by Apple, Samsung, and Huawei (Hisilicon) will see their share of shipments grow to almost 30% in 2018.

Based on surveys Digitimes Research conducted in China in December 2017, shipments of smartphone application processors (AP) to the China market in 2017 were able to maintain positive growth. However, shipments in the first quarter of 2018 are expected to decline 18.2% from the level seen in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Vendors moved up smartphone AP shipments ahead of China's National Day Golden Week holiday, buoying third-quarter 2017 shipments to come to 172 million units, up 24.3% on quarter, outperforming market expectation.

China's AP shipments in second-quarter 2017 showed a sequential increase of only 4%, reaching 133.4 million units. On a yearly basis, the figure represents a decrease of 8.3% compared to that of second-quarter 2016.