Global chip shortage hitting Samsung worse than Apple

photo of an iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The global chip shortage has impacted everything from motorcar production to PS5 restocks, but while the smartphone manufacture has been reasonably resilient, information technology's due to get worse according to a new written report from Counterpoint Inquiry.

The shortage is apparently "hitting [the] smartphone industry difficult," and as such the firm is revising its estimate for smartphone shipments downwardly from one.45 billion units downwardly to ane.41 billion.

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That may not sound like a dramatic change, just carry in mind that the coronavirus-suppressed sales figures last year capped at one.33 billion, and yous can encounter this isn't the bounciness back many would expect as the world opens up.

Graph showing predicted phone shipments for 2021 — (Image credit: Counterpoint Research)

Counterpoint puts this squarely down to supply being unable to keep upward with demand, and notes that "some smartphone OEMs and vendors are reporting they had only received lxxx% of their requested volumes on central components during Q2." In Q3, the business firm added, it seems to be getting worse, with some vendors only receiving 70%.

The report noted that 90% of the industry is afflicted, but the pain isn't spread evenly. "The semiconductor shortage seems to touch on all brands in the ecosystems," explained Counterpoint'due south Research Director Tom Kang, namechecking big hitters similar Samsung, Oppo and Xiaomi.

There was, however, ane visitor that seems to be more immune than others: Apple. "Apple tree seems to be the about resilient and least affected by the AP shortage state of affairs," Kang added.

Merely fifty-fifty Apple has sounded the alarm that stock may not menstruation quite as smoothly as it would in normal times. On its most recent call to investors, the company warned those on the call that growth could be impacted past shortages. "Nosotros expect supply constraints during the September quarter to be greater than what nosotros experienced during the June quarter," Apple's master financial officer Luca Maestri said at the time. "The constraints volition primarily impact iPhone and iPad."

So far, simply equally Counterpoint'due south research suggests, iPhone 13 shortages don't announced to exist a matter, but others oasis't been so lucky.

A previous report from Wave7 suggested that vendors were especially struggling to keep stock of mid-range Samsung and OnePlus handsets, and Google was forced to limit its Pixel 5a launch to just 2 territories: the U.s.a. and Nihon. We're expecting the Google Pixel 6 to arrive some time this month, but nosotros'd non be surprised to see information technology in brusk supply or be office of a staggered rollout when it's finally released.

Meanwhile, the fate of the Samsung Milky way S21 FE — in one case feared cancelled due to chip shortages — is once once more severely in incertitude.

The ongoing chip crisis may mean that phone manufacturers take to be a little more selective in the handsets they prioritize in the short to mid-term. Samsung, for case, looks similar it will be pseudo reintroducing the Galaxy Note — cancelled due to the bit shortage for 2021 — as the Ultra model of the Samsung Galaxy S22, reducing five potential flagship handsets to just three.

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Freelance contributor Alan has been writing virtually tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine besides. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, y'all'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games excess. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.