Samsung has always committed to its great line of Galaxy Note centered on the pen, even when things went very wrong. Late last year, however, rumors emerged that Samsung might not launch a Galaxy Note device this year, and now the company has confirmed that. During Samsung’s annual shareholders’ meeting, co-CEO Koh Dong-jin said that the company is struggling with chip shortages and that “it may be difficult” to launch a Note model in the second half of 2021 as planned, Bloomberg reported.
“There is a serious imbalance in the supply and demand of chips in the IT sector globally,” said Koh. “Despite the difficult environment, our business leaders are meeting with partners abroad to resolve these problems.”
Samsung Securities analyst MS Hwang said Bloomberg that much of the problem for Samsung is the shortage of Qualcomm chips produced by Taiwanese chip maker TSMC. “The restricted supply of Qualcomm AP chips produced by TSMC is affecting everyone except Apple,” he said.
Samsung Electronics, which is the world’s second largest chip maker after TSMC, is having its own problems. The company was forced to close some of its factories in the United States in Texas due to blackouts, squeezing an already tight stock of chips, and is not yet in full production. This may not directly affect its main lines, but it is likely to have a ripple effect on supply during a period when demand for smartphones and PCs is very high due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Koh did not link the possibility of skipping a year for the Note directly to the lack of chips. However, he noted that “it can be a burden to reveal two iconic models in one year, so it can be difficult to launch [a] Observe the model in 2H [2021]”He seemed to confirm that Samsung is not giving up on the model.” The timing of the Note model launch can be changed, but we look forward to launching a Note model next year, “he said.