It’s been a while since the global market is facing a chip shortage, and based on the latest news, it seems to be getting worse day by day. Many well-known brands are unable to ship their high-end smartphones due to this fact. According to multiple sources, Samsung might delay its upcoming products, as well as their S21FE. As we are already concerned about the fact that Samsung will release no Note series this year, many fans were hoping at least for the fan edition instead. Probably, the chip shortage might also hinder that. So, do we have to wait till 2022 for the flagship devices, or will brands sort out a solution for their smartphone? Let’s find out!
The Smartphone world has been in a shortage of chips since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the delays in the production of chips. Many brands had to hold their launching event behind schedule. But with the starting of 2021, they showed signs of a massive recovery. Within the first quarter of this year, global smartphone shipments grew a staggering 47 percent. According to Android Headlines, Apple even registered a strong 49.5-percent YoY growth in smartphone shipment that usually starts a bit slow at the first quarter of the year. And, the largest smartphone shipment company, Samsung shipped 75 million units in the first quarter of 2021. But what about the upcoming product shipment? According to Digitimes Research, the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage may affect smartphone shipments in the second quarter.
Earlier in the month of may, Lu Weibing, a vice president for Chinese handset maker Xiaomi, shared on Chinese social network Weibo that “It’s not a shortage, it’s an extreme shortage”. So it is certain that there are not enough chips available compared to consumer’s demand. Moreover, Qualcomm Inc is struggling to provide enough chips for smartphones and gadgets. Not only will this force us to use older technologies, but it will also hinder the further innovations of powerful chips.
A South Korean Samsung supplier mentioned that the Qualcomm chip shortage has been hitting the production of mid and low-end Samsung devices. Whereas another supplier claimed there’s also a shortage for the high-end Qualcomm processor, SnapDragon 888. This is a whole new chipset and its key parts come from Samsung Electronics’ separate chipmaking division that uses a 5-nanometer chip. Processing this new chipset is time-consuming and hard to scale up quickly. These issues can also be a reason behind the Qualcomm processor shortage.
Probably, that is why Samsung is more likely to ditch their note series this year. This South Korean giant has already said that the Note series won’t be its focus this year. But what about their upcoming S22 fan edition? Well, the global chip shortage has also made the launching of the Galaxy S21 fan edition uncertain. A report from Android Authority alleged that Samsung had suspended production of the Galaxy S21 FE. They also mentioned that Samsung halted the production of the phone due to the global chip shortage. So all these rumors about the expected device seem inappropriate.
IceUniverse has shared a tweet mentioning something unexpected has happened, referring to some supply chain source. This tweet might also mean the consequences of the global chip shortage.
However, Samsung has responded to Bloomberg about the fact as they cannot discuss details of the unreleased product, and nothing has been determined regarding the alleged production suspension. So, there’s still a chance for the fan edition to be launched. And, we would hope companies would work together and bring up a suitable solution to recover from the crisis.
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