Counterpoint Research reports that global smartphone SoC shipments fell 15 per cent in the first half of 2026, hit by surging memory prices, cautious inventory control and longer replacement cycles. MediaTek held the top share at 32 per cent, Qualcomm was second at 22 per cent, Apple 19 per cent, UNISOC 13 per cent and Samsung 8 per cent, but the decline was concentrated in the two merchant-chip leaders.
Two giants, same slide
Both MediaTek and Qualcomm saw first-half phone SoC shipments fall more than 25 per cent year on year for different reasons. MediaTek faced pressure in low-end and entry-level 5G as memory costs squeezed already thin margins, pushing vendors to cut orders, delay launches or return to cheaper 4G, though its flagship Dimensity 9500 stayed strong with vivo, OPPO, Pocophone and Redmi. Qualcomm’s high end grew little: Samsung’s Galaxy S26 uses both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and its own Exynos 2600, while the previous generation used Qualcomm alone, and weak Xiaomi 17 sales weighed on flagship shipments.
The memory squeeze
MediaTek’s phone business was 41 per cent of revenue, down 14 per cent quarter on quarter and 20 per cent year on year, with gross margin down 2.9 points and operating profit down 22.2 per cent. Qualcomm’s phone-chip revenue for the June quarter fell 20 per cent to 5.09 billion dollars, and it plans double-digit price rises from 1 September to pass on memory, wafer, packaging and test costs. Apple gained four points to 19 per cent on iPhone 17 sales, Samsung expanded Exynos 2600, and UNISOC took entry-level share as cheap phones moved to its 4G and 5G platforms. The one growth pocket: AI-phone SoCs still rose 24 per cent. Counterpoint expects 2026 total SoC shipments down 14 per cent, entry-level down over 30 per cent, with memory normalising only in the second half of 2027.
Read the original report (Sohu IT)
Translated and adapted from Sohu IT (it.sohu.com).