Samsung has always been committed to its large, pen-centered Galaxy Note range, even when things went terribly wrong. Late last year, however, rumors surfaced that Samsung might not be releasing a Galaxy Note device this year, and now the company has confirmed it. At Samsung’s annual shareholders’ meeting, co-CEO Koh Dong-jin said the company was facing a shortage of chips and that it could be ‘difficult’ to get a Note model in the second half of 2021. to release as he had planned. Bloomberg reported.
“There is a serious imbalance in the demand and supply of chips worldwide in the IT sector,” Koh said. “Despite the difficult environment, our business leaders are meeting partners overseas to solve these problems.”
MS Hwang, analyst at Samsung Securities, said Bloomberg that a big part of the problem for Samsung is a shortage of Qualcomm chips manufactured by Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. “The enhanced range of Qualcomm AP chips manufactured by TSMC is affecting everyone except Apple,” he said.
Samsung Electronics, which is next to TSMC the second largest manufacturer of chips in the world, has its own problems. The company had to shut down some of its U.S. plants in Texas due to heavy expulsions, which had squeezed in an already tight supply of chips, and is still not at full production. It may not directly affect its flagship setups, but it is likely to have a ripple effect on supply during a period in which demand for smartphones and computers is high due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Koh did not link the possibility of hitting the Note directly on the Note shortage for a year. However, he noted that ‘it can be a burden to launch two flagship models in a year, so it can be difficult to [a] Note model in 2H [2021]”It does seem that he has confirmed that Samsung will not give up the model.” The timing of the launch of the Note model can be changed, but we want to introduce a Note model next year, ‘he said.