Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek: The Rivals Outside x86Thin moat

Intel (INTC) — moat facet

Apple already left x86 entirely, and Qualcomm and MediaTek are selling the same idea to Intel's own customers.

AMD competes within x86. The Arm designers compete with x86 itself. Intel's 10-K names them in client computing: Apple with its M series, Qualcomm with its Snapdragon products, and MediaTek1. Apple moved its whole Mac line off Intel processors; Qualcomm and MediaTek sell Arm chips to the same PC makers Intel depends on.

Client competitors named by IntelAMDx86, 30.3% of client, Q2 2026AppleM series, ArmQualcommSnapdragon, ArmMediaTekArmIntel AI PCsabout 2/3 of client revenueIntel Form 10-K FY2025; Mercury Research; Q2 2026 remarks
One rival inside x86, three outside it.

The threat is to pricing more than to volume so far. Mercury Research's x86 figures leave Arm out entirely, so Intel's 69.7% of x86 client processors2 is a share of a market that is itself losing some ground to Arm.

Intel's defence is the AI PC: about two thirds of its client revenue in the second quarter of 2026 came from AI PCs3. The pitch is that its new chips run AI workloads on the machine as well as any rival. Apple and Qualcomm make the same pitch.

Intel also faces Arm in its own customers' plans. Its three largest customers were 43% of revenue in 20254, and each can add Arm-based models without abandoning Intel entirely.

The client group's history shows the cost of the architecture contest. Apple, once a large Intel customer, designs its own chips; the client group's revenue on the old structure was $40,057 million in 20205 and on the current structure $32,228 million in 20256. Not all of that difference is Arm, but none of the growth in Arm-based PCs has gone to Intel.

The architecture contest moves slowly and then decisively, as Apple's move showed. The sign to watch is Windows laptops on Arm: a large, sustained share of new designs would mean x86 itself, not just Intel's part of it, is being displaced.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Arm designers are named competitors in every client segment.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
Client Computing revenue growth, latest quarter
+12.8% ($8,877M, Q2 2026)

The PC business against Arm and AMD; growth falling below zero once prices normalise would mean share is leaving x86 or Intel.

How it's calculated: Client Computing and Physical AI Group revenue of $8,877M in Q2 2026 divided by $7,871M in Q2 2025, from Intel's Q2 2026 results release.
Source: Moat Explorer calculation from Intel filings ↗
References
  1. ReportedIntel's 10-K names them in client computing: Apple with its M series, Qualcomm with its Snapdragon products, and MediaTek.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. Third-party estimateMercury Research's x86 figures leave Arm out entirely, so Intel's 69.7% of x86 client processors is a share of a market that is itself losing some ground to Arm.
    Basic Tutorials, Mercury Research Q2 2026 client shares: AMD 30.3% of x86 client CPUs, 34.9% of desktop and 28.9% of notebook. — Q2 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIntel's defence is the AI PC: about two thirds of its client revenue in the second quarter of 2026 came from AI PCs.
    Intel Q2 2026 earnings call prepared remarks (CEO and CFO). — Q2 2026 · publ. 23 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIts three largest customers were 43% of revenue in 2025, and each can add Arm-based models without abandoning Intel entirely.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedApple, once a large Intel customer, designs its own chips; the client group's revenue on the old structure was $40,057 million in 2020 and on the current structure $32,228 million in 2025.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2021 - segment results for 2019-2021 on the old structure. — FY2021 · publ. January 2022 · source ↗
  6. ReportedApple, once a large Intel customer, designs its own chips; the client group's revenue on the old structure was $40,057 million in 2020 and on the current structure $32,228 million in 2025.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026