The global tablet SoC market was up 23 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2014.

Strategy Analytics estimates $945 million worth of tablet silicon was shipped last quarter and there were some changes in the standing.

Apple is still the biggest name in tablet SoCs, with an estimated 26-percent revenue share. However, Intel has managed to seize second place with a 19 percent revenue share, while Qualcomm ranks third with 17 percent. MediaTek and Samsung came in fourth and fifth respectively, but the press release did not reveal their exact market share.

Sravan Kundojjala, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said:

"The non-Apple tablet AP market leadership position continues to change hands and during Q2 2014 it was Intel's turn. Strategy Analytics notes that previously six companies held the non-iPad tablet AP leadership position, which continues to be a challenging one to sustain. Strategy Analytics believes that Intel is on a good trajectory to achieve its 40 million tablet AP shipment goal in 2014."

Intel was not the only winner. Stuart Robinson, director of Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service said HiSilicon, Marvell, MediaTek, Nvidia and Qualcomm all registered “significant growth” in the tablet application processor market.

Robinson says Nvidia is well positioned to grab more high-profile design wins with its upcoming 64-bit variant of the Tegra K1 processor. The new chip is expected to launch in the upcoming Nexus 9 (Volantis) tablet from HTC.

Intel and MediaTek have also made it clear that they have ambitious plans in the tablet space. MediaTek has launched a number of SoCs designed specifically for tablets in recent months, while Intel burned heaps of contra-revenue money to get its Bay Trail parts into cheap tablets.