Samsung Electronics and Apple remained the top semiconductor buyers in 2013, together consuming US$53.7 billion of semiconductors in 2013, an increase of US$7.7 billion from 2012, according to Gartner.

"Samsung and Apple have topped the semiconductor consumption table for three years running, with their share of the design total available market (TAM) rising from 12% in 2011, to 17% in 2013," noted Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner. "This increase clearly shows how fast the presence of these two companies has expanded over the last three years and why their decisions have technology and pricing implications for the whole semiconductor industry."

The top-10 companies bought US$114.0 billion of semiconductors to account for 36% of semiconductor vendors' worldwide revenues in 2013, Gartner disclosed. This was up from US$105.1 billion, accounting for 35% in 2012. The top-10 outperformed the overall semiconductor buying market, Gartner added.

In addition, Lenovo climbed to number four in 2013 due to its market share growth in the PC market as well as the great success in the China smartphone market, Gartner indicated. Meanwhile, it was the first time for Huawei to seize a top-10 position.

China-based electronic equipment manufacturers will continue to grow and therefore increase their semiconductor demand with their growth driven not just by demand from their domestic markets, but also by strong demand from other emerging markets such as those in Latin America and Africa, Gartner pointed out.

"In 2013, total semiconductor demand from the smartphone and media tablet markets surpassed demand in the PC market," Yamaji continued. "However, this consumer shift has caused a substantial decrease in total semiconductor demand over the last two years because there is far less semiconductor content in a smartphone and a media tablet than there is in a PC. In addition, in the total smartphone and media tablet markets, the growth rate for utility/basic models is far higher than for premium models. To keep growing, semiconductor vendors need to gain opportunities by accelerating the device commoditisation with their intellectual properties and patent portfolio."

Yamaji also noted that in order to avoid the fierce price competition from commoditised markets, market leaders are seeking opportunities in new markets such as wearable devices, smart TVs and automotive infotainment.