Published in Mobiles

Qualcomm can’t keep up with demand

by on12 March 2021


Chip shortage moving to phones

Qualcomm is struggling to keep up with the demand for its processor chips used in smartphones and gadgets, as a chip shortage that first hit the auto industry spreads across the electronics business.

According to Reuters, Samsung is experiencing a shortage of Qualcomm’s application processors, the heart of smartphones, and it is not the only Android maker suffering.

The problem has come from the US sanctions against Huawei which meant that its users had been rushing to buy other brands. Qualcomm has found it hard to meet this higher than expected demand, in part due to a shortage of some subcomponents used in its chips.

One person at a Samsung supplier said a Qualcomm chip shortage was hitting production of mid-and low-end Samsung models. There was also a shortage of Qualcomm’s new flagship chip, the Snapdragon 888, but did not say whether this was affecting the manufacturing of Samsung’s high-end phones.

A Qualcomm spokesman pointed to public comments by executives on Wednesday in which they reiterated they believe they can hit a fiscal second quarter sales forecast given in February.But another senior executive at a top contract manufacturer for several major smartphone brands told Reuters it was facing a shortage of a range of components from Qualcomm and would cut handset shipments this year.

“We still have our demand basically higher than supply”, Qualcomm incoming Chief Executive Cristiano Amon told investors during the company’s annual meeting on Wednesday.

Qualcomm’s flagship application processor, the Snapdragon 888, is still new. Key parts of it come from Samsung Electronics’ separate chipmaking division and use a new 5-nanometer manufacturing process that is hard to scale up quickly.

 

Last modified on 14 March 2021
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