In the first quarter of 2024, MediaTek emerged as the top smartphone chip designer in the world, based on the number of units shipped. With 114 million MediaTek-powered smartphones shipped during this period, representing a 17% year-over-year increase, it’s clear that MediaTek is a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Qualcomm followed closely behind in second place, shipping 75 million phones packed with Snapdragon processors, marking an 11% increase from last year.

However, when looking at rankings by average revenue of phones sold, MediaTek dropped to third place. Apple’s A-series chips experienced a 16% decline in shipments during the first quarter, with 49 million iPhones delivered. Following Apple was UNISOC with chips found in 26 million phones shipped, and Samsung’s Exynos APs in 18 million phones.

Despite facing restrictions due to U.S. bans on cutting-edge chips for Huawei, the company managed to ship 8 million phones powered by its Kirin chips in Q1. Google also made its mark with 2 million Tensor-equipped Pixel phones shipped during this period.

When considering revenue generated by phone sales, Apple took the lead with its A-series chips contributing to $56 billion in revenue during Q1. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips also performed well, bringing in $37 billion from handset sales. Samsung saw a boost thanks to its Galaxy S24 series models using Exynos APs, generating $9 billion in smartphone revenue.

Huawei’s Kirin chipsets contributed $6 billion to revenue, while UNISOC SoCs saw a significant increase of 49% year-over-year to reach $3 billion in revenue. Google rounded out the rankings by revenue with $2 billion from Pixel phones using Tensor APs.

Overall, these rankings highlight the diverse landscape of smartphone chip designers and their impact on both unit shipments and revenue generation within the telecommunications industry.