By Kim Bo-eun
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| Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Fold 3, left, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
More than a month has passed since Samsung released the latest editions of its foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but customers are still waiting to receive the models. Apple’s latest iPhone 13 faces the same situation.
The lack of inventory for the new models is primarily due to explosive demand, but has also been exacerbated by the ongoing global chip shortage. The shortage has been caused by soaring demand for semiconductors, as the reliance on digital devices has grown during the extended COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid these circumstances, Samsung has apparently been experiencing difficulty in securing a sufficient supply of application processors (APs) for its foldable handsets from U.S.-based mobile chipset titan Qualcomm.
“The delays in deliveries for the latest foldable phones mostly stem from greater-than-expected demand. The chip shortage issue is not only a problem for us, but it is an industry-wide phenomenon,” a Samsung representative said Thursday.
But an industry source said that smartphone vendors will be going all out to secure the “controlling and brain-like chips” that are in high demand.
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| Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 13 at a virtual event held at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, Sept. 14 (PST). Courtesy of Apple |
Apple is being affected by the same problem. According to analysts with J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse, two top-tier investment banks, global customers who have pre-ordered the latest iPhone models online will have to wait over four weeks for the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max.
Deliveries in the U.S. for the iPhone 13 series are increasingly being delayed and show longer wait times than for the previous iPhone 12 Series, due to what have been cited as supply chain issues. Apple will start to take pre-orders here for the iPhone 13 models on Oct. 1.
Despite such difficulties, major smartphone vendors are expected to see “quite impressive” third quarter results, mainly thanks to continued cost-cutting efforts and solid demand for premium mobile phones. From Samsung’s standpoint, its efforts to streamline its smartphone lineup are a hidden plus factor in terms of helping its mobile division secure the bottom line.
Sales of Samsung’s Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 series in the first month of their release came to 1.3 million, five times of that of the previous series, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research.
“It takes time, because smartphone makers need to secure all of the parts that go into the models from their various partners, and this takes a lot of coordinating,” another industry source said.
The scheduled launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 fan edition will be delayed beyond Samsung’s October Unpacked event because of the AP shortage, according to media reports. Regarding that possibility, Samsung said that it could not comment on the launch dates of models prior to their release.
The Galaxy S21 fan edition is known to use the same AP from Qualcomm as what is used in the premium foldable phones.
Analysts say that both Apple and Samsung will rake in much higher profits in each of their mobile units from the first quarter of next year, as the global chip shortage issue should be addressed from then on, with the help of TSMC.
In a recent event, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su said that its chip supply will improve throughout next year. While she referred to the global chip shortage as a “disaster,” the current chip shortage has made a lot of corporate customers become more open to long-term commitments.
The global AP shortage has been continuing for months. The shortage first hit the global automotive industry and it has now spread to the global consumer electronics market.
Chip shortage weighing on Samsung, Apple’s latest smartphones
Source: Buhay Kapa PH
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