Big shakeup in tablet apps processor rankings

BOSTON, USA: The global tablet processor market grew 30 percent year-on-year to reach $1.2 billion in Q3 2013, according to the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service report, "Tablet Apps Processor Market Share Q3 2013: Qualcomm Grabs Top Spot in Non-iPad Tablets."

Apple, Qualcomm, Intel, Samsung and MediaTek featured in Strategy Analytics' Q3 2013 top-five tablet applications processor revenue share rankings. Apple maintained its dominance in the tablet applications processor market with 40 percent revenue share in Q3 2013, followed by Qualcomm with 13 percent revenue share and Intel with 8 percent revenue share.

Sravan Kundojjala, senior analyst, said: "Qualcomm rose to the number two position in tablet applications processors in Q3 2013 in revenue terms, thanks to its Google Nexus 7 2013 and Amazon Kindle Fire HDX design-wins. This is quite a dramatic change in position as the company hadn't even made it to the top-five just two quarters ago. The non-Apple tablet applications processor market leadership continues to be a game of musical chairs and previously we have seen NVIDIA, Samsung and Texas Instruments taking the lead at some time in the past few years.

"Companies are extremely reliant on their latest design wins and Strategy Analytics is advising chip vendors that these dynamics pose a challenge and an opportunity for them in the non-Apple tablet applications processor market."

Stuart Robinson, director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies (HCT) service, added: "During Q3 2013, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek and NVIDIA all made progress and registered double-digit sequential growth in their tablet applications processor shipments. Strategy Analytics believes that these companies have the potential to continue to improve their tablet applications processor share in the next few quarters."