Chipset giants like MediaTek and Qualcomm face a drop in shipments as proprietary SoCs from Google and Samsung gain share in 2026.
in a Counterpoint research report revealing SoC (system on a chip) sales comparing the first half of 2025 with the first half of 2026, chipset shipments have decreased by 15%. A significant drop like that indicates that smartphones from major Android manufacturers have also fallen. And as smartphone companies like Google and Samsung continue to develop proprietary chipsets, MediaTek and Qualcomm have seen a drop in their market share.
Mediatek’s SoC share has decreased from 37% to 32%, while Qualcomm’s share fell from 26% to 22%. Google, Samsung, and UNISOC have all gained SoC share, but the loss to manufacturers behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen series and Dimensity line has been split relatively evenly.
MediaTek and Qualcomm’s shipments were down more than 25% year-over-year in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, Apple, Samsung, Google, and UNISOC all posted strong shipment growth during the period, each for different reasons detailed below.
The blame lies with memory costs that show no signs of abating. The increase is causing manufacturers to increase device prices to offset component costs, and with a 300% year-over-year increase in memory costs, SoC costs no longer make up the majority of each shipment.
The data for the first half of 2026 is not unexpected, considering a report earlier this month detailed a more granular look at the decline in smartphone shipments as a whole.
This has also led to the emergence of generative AI chipsets. Some SoCs, like Google’s Tensor G5, aim to facilitate AI as more Android devices pile on features and more follow. That section of SoC is up 24% year over year, even as the total number fell.
The Pixel 11 series is expected to be announced on August 12, and Google’s Tensor G6 will power the device as another proprietary SoC entry after the Tensor G5 joined the Pixel 10 lineup. Google isn’t the only company pushing its own chipsets. Samsung continues to build its Exynos line, although the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 The series uses Qualcomm processors worldwide.
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