Samsung is considering not launching a Galaxy Note this 2021, and the lack of components that plagues the technology segment is the main cause. According to Koh Dong-jin, co-CEO of Samsung Electronics, the company is dealing with the consequences of a “serious imbalance” of semiconductors, and this could affect the launch of its second flagship of the year.
These statements were made by Samsung’s top executive at an annual investor meeting in Seoul, South Korea, reports Bloomberg. “There is a serious imbalance in the supply and demand of chips in the technology sector worldwide”Koh added.
A “break” for the Galaxy Note series
Samsung expects that the chipset shortage will affect its mobile device business during the next quarter, so it considers the possibility of not introducing new Galaxy Note in the second half of 2021, as it does every year. Nevertheless, this would not mean the discontinuation of the series and the Galaxy Note would return next year:
The Note series is a high-end model in our business portfolio. It could be a burden to present two flagship models in a year, so it would be difficult to launch a Note in the second half of the year. The timing for the launch of a new Note may change, but we are looking to introduce a new Note next year.
If the measure, currently under consideration due to chipset shortages, is applied as the Samsung executive explains, it would break a streak of annual releases since the original Galaxy Note was unveiled in 2011.
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Regarding the shortage of chipsets suffered by the technology segment, both Samsung and TSMC, two of the largest manufacturers, have redoubled their efforts to reduce the shortage of semiconductors, but despite this, the situation is far from being resolved and on the contrary extends from the automotive segment, where it started, to other fields of the market, explains Bloomberg.
The first reports of the inability of Qualcomm to meet the demand for chipsets already advanced that the situation will limit the launches this year, and apparently one of them will be the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Note. On the other hand, other companies like Xiaomi would have already taken action on the matter and opted for solutions other than Qualcomm.
Finally, it is important to mention that since last year it is rumored that the end of the Galaxy Note family would be this year and that part of Samsung’s strategy would be to bring the S-Pen to the Galaxy S family, which ultimately happened with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. All this, together with the current situation, suggest that the predictions will come true, but not in the way that was believed.
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