Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw its smartphone chipset shipments increase slightly year over year in the second quarter, according to a report from Counterpoint Research. The growth was attributed to stronger sales of the iPhone 17 series, particularly the Pro models, which are driving demand for the company's A19-series chips. Counterpoint expects the number of A19-series chips shipped to exceed those of the previous generation.
Apple captured 19% of the global smartphone chipset market in the second quarter. This figure contrasts with the performance of its primary competitors. MediaTek remained the market leader with a 31% share, while Qualcomm held 23%. Both MediaTek and Qualcomm reported year-over-year shipment declines.
Counterpoint identified several factors contributing to the declines at Qualcomm and MediaTek. Qualcomm faced pressure from Samsung Electronics using its Exynos 2600 chips in base Galaxy S26 models in select regions. Additionally, a memory shortage and inventory buildup negatively impacted shipments of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600- and 400-series chips.
MediaTek also posted a year-over-year shipment decrease. The research firm noted that memory constraints hurt sales of mainstream and entry-level products, while weaker sales of devices powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 series affected the premium tier.
In contrast, Samsung Electronics bucked the broader market trend. The company reported year-over-year increases in Exynos shipments, supported by the Galaxy S26 series. Midrange demand also benefited from the Exynos 1680 in the Galaxy A57 and the Exynos 1480 in the Galaxy A37.
The report highlighted that the broader smartphone semiconductor market remained under pressure. Global smartphone shipments fell 21% year over year in the second quarter. This decline was primarily driven by higher memory costs and cautious inventory management by manufacturers.
Regarding Apple's stock price, shares were down 0.31% at $315.25 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
