The global smartphone and tablet graphics processing unit (GPU) market leader Arm lost share in 2020, according to Strategy Analytics.
Arm, Qualcomm, Apple, Imagination Technologies and Intel have captured the top-five volume share rankings in the smartphone and tablet GPU market in 2020.

Arm led the smartphone and tablet GPU market with 39 percent unit share in 2020.

Arm’s smartphone and tablet GPU share peaked in 2016 and has declined since then. Trade sanctions on its key GPU licensee HiSilicon and competitive pressure from Apple and Imagination affected Arm’s Mali-branded GPU shipments and market share in 2020.

Arm’s other licensee, Samsung LSI, will field AMD GPU-based Exynos chips in 2021, affecting Arm’s share. The mobile GPU market landscape will evolve further if NVIDIA closes its acquisition of Arm.

Apple and Imagination both posted double-digit growth in their GPU shipments in 2020. Apple, which moved to in-house GPUs in 2017, achieved growth in its iPhone and iPad GPU shipments. Imagination’s GPUs featured in MediaTek’s Helio-branded 4G chips grew 23 percent.