The global chip shortage has hit many of the biggest vendors and their products, from Sony's PS5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X, to Android smart devices. Now, Samsung is dealing with the imbalance in supply and demand, and it's already affecting the production of its next flagship smartphone.
Samsung has confirmed the lack of Qualcomm chips may delay the release of its upcoming Galaxy Note smartphone, originally planned to ship in the second half of 2021.
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In a recent shareholder's meeting (spotted by Bloomberg), Samsung's co-CEO Koh Dong-jin said, "it could be a burden to unveil two flagship models in a year, so it might be difficult to release [a] Note model." He explains this is due to the "serious imbalance" in global chip supply.
The report states that Samsung is looking to release the upcoming Note model next year, although there may still be hope. "Despite the difficult environment, our business leaders are meeting partners overseas to solve these problems," Koh said.
Demand for Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC's Qualcomm chips are not looking to ease anytime soon, with Taiwanese panel supplier Innolux president James Yang even stating the chip bottleneck could last until the first half of 2022. This isn't looking good for the Galaxy Note S21.
Interestingly, Samsung Securities analyst MS Hwang said everybody has been affected by the Qualcomm chip shortage, "except Apple." That's because Apple is starting to develop its own wireless 5G and 6G technology so it won't have to rely on Qualcomm; the iPhone 13 and beyond may never face a chip crisis.
If we're not going to see a Galaxy Note update anytime soon, it may be worth sticking to a Galaxy Note S20 Ultra, as it's still one of the best smartphones you can buy this year.
