IC Insights released its list of the world's top 20 semiconductor suppliers in the second quarter of 2016 and noted that MediaTek posted a huge 32 per cent increase in sales over the first quarter 2016. Although worldwide smartphone unit volume sales are forecast to increase by only five percent in 2016, MediaTek's application processor shipments to the fast-growing China-based smartphone suppliers made it grow like topsy in the second quarter.

Meanwhile AMD saw a  23 percent increase in sales although Intel remained firmly in control of the number one spot in the top 20 ranking in the first half of 2016. It increased its lead over Samsung's semiconductor sales to 33 percent from only 20 percent in 2015.

Sharp was spiralling downwards with its 13 percent decline in its revenues,  AMD became the only new entrant into the top 20 ranking in the first half of 2016 as compared to the 2015 ranking, replacing Sharp.

Sales for the  top 20 semiconductor companies' sales increased by seven percent sequentially in the second quarter of 2016. Seven of the top 20 managed double digit sales growth.

Apple jumped up three positions in the first-half 2016 ranking as compared to 2015, IC Insights indicated. IC Insights thought that Apple's custom ARM-based SoC processors had a "sales value" of US$2.9 billion in the first half of 2016, which placed the vendor in the 14th position in the top 20 ranking.