With the China smartphone market maturing, application processor (AP) providers are facing new challenges to increase their market share. According to the latest Digitimes Research China Smartphone AP Tracker report, beginning in the the fourth quarter of 2012, annual growth and quarterly growth for smartphone AP shipments both rapidly slowed.

　　In the first quarter of 2014, overall smartphone AP shipments declined 4.2% quarter-on-quarter in the China market, with slowing shipment momentum for MediaTek and Spreadtrum being the primary causes, noted Digitimes Research. MediaTek's shipments were affected by a decline in its TD and EDGE product shipments, an immature LTE product strategy, as well as seasonal adjustments.

　　In the second quarter, while Digitimes Research believes MediaTek will see its shipments rebound to double-digit growth, its two main competitors, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum, will see even stronger growth, causing MediaTek's overall market share to drop below 50% for the first time since the second quarter of 2013.

　　According to the Digtimes Research China Smartphone AP Tracker report, MediaTek is benefittting from the strong performance of its 8-core products but the company is at a disadvantage in the growing LTE market, as it currently lacks a single-chip solution.