By Han Joo-yeob
powerusr@ddaily.co.kr

Worldwide smartphone application processor revenue exceeded billion during the second quarter of this year for the first time. The impressive growth indicates that the smartphone apps processor market in general is still growing robustly despite the sluggish sales of premium smartphones of the world’s No.1 smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics. In particular, affordable feature phones are likely to lead the future global growth.

According to market research firm Strategic Analytics (SA), global mobile apps processor revenue amounted to ,241 million during the second quarter of 2014, 19 percent up over the previous quarter (,404 million) and 21.6 percent more than the same period in 2013 (,308 million). The number of mobile apps processors shipped globally during the second quarter was 364.2 million, up 16.8 percent over the previous quarter (311.6 million) and 25.3 percent more than the same period last year (290.5 million).

The volume of shipment grew at a higher rate from 2013 Q2 to 2014 Q2 than the growth in revenue during the same period, which can be attributed to the increasing sales of apps processors for low-end smartphones.

Qualcomm took the largest revenue share during the second quarter. It maintained its lead by an overwhelming margin with ,037 million in revenue, which is 58 percent market share. Apple ranked second with 0 million in revenue, 14.3 percent share. Following Apple were MediaTek (0 million, 13.2 percent), Spreadtrum (5 million, 3.9 percent), Samsung (4 million, 3.3 percent) and Marvell (6 million, 3 percent).

In terms of shipment volume, Qualcomm took the first place (150.9 million, 41.4 percent), followed by MediaTek (85.8 million, 23.5 percent), Apple (45.4 million, 12.5 percent), Spreadtrum (35.8 million, 9.8 percent), Marvell (15.6 million, 4.3 percent), Samsung (9.6 million, 2.6 percent) and Broadcom (9.6 million, 2.6 percent).

An industry insider said, “Marvell apparently benefited since Broadcom had withdrawn from the mobile apps processor business. Qualcomm maintained its lead in the market, while companies in Greater China, such as MediaTek and Spreadtrum, continued to grow.”