Shipments of smartphone-use application processors in China are expected to grow 14.6% sequentially to 161 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015 as handset vendors are building up inventories to meet year-end seasonal demand in the US and Europe, according to Digitimes Research.

MediaTek, the top smartphone AP vendor in China, will see its market share decline to 40.3% in the fourth quarter from 44.7% in the previous quarter as its shipments will be affected by new products released by Qualcomm as well as price competition for 4G solutions from Spreadtrum Communications.

Meanwhile, demand for Spreadtrum's 3G and 4G solutions has continued to rise, with its market share likely to climb to 27.9% in the fourth quarter from 18% in the second quarter and surpassing that of Qualcomm's for the second consecutive quarter.

Qualcomm is expected to see its market share climb back to 21.7% in the fourth quarter, buoyed by an update of its product mix and new deployment in the high-end segment, Digitimes Research estimated.