According to Bloomberg, today the industry is experiencing the largest shortage of semiconductor products in recent years, which appeared a year ago, and now has become much worse.
Global semiconductor shortage hits iPhone 12, PlayStation 5 and other products
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many auto and consumer electronics manufacturers have cut orders for semiconductor products and are now trying unsuccessfully to ramp up supplies.
Industry analysts argue that the automotive industry has been hit hardest, but the problem is becoming more serious in the consumer electronics market. Apple’s iPhone 12 production is expected to suffer.
Apple recently confirmed that production volumes for the new iPhone 12 are being held back by a shortage of Qualcomm semiconductor products. Sony also said it would not be able to fully meet the demand for the PlayStation 5 due to supply issues. At the same time, the deficit led to an increase in the price of semiconductors.
Microsoft said chip shortages will persist throughout the first half of 2021; while AMD CEO Lisa Su believes that shortages will be the norm throughout 2021.
It is reported that the auto industry has already lost about $61 billion.
IDC: The smartphone market has returned to growth
Experts of the analytical company IDC summed up the results of the fourth quarter of 2020 and the whole year in general on the smartphone market. As stated in the corresponding report, the smartphone market returned to growth. Sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 were 385.9 million units; which is 4.3% more than smartphones sold in the fourth quarter of 2019. At the same time, for the entire 2020, smartphones were sold 5.9% less than in 2019.
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At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple was named the market leader. It was able to increase sales in annual terms; that is, compared to the same quarter of the previous year, by 22.2% – from 73.8 to 90.1 million devices. This led to an increase in Apple’s share from 19.9% ββto 23.4%. The second place is occupied by Samsung, which in annual terms increased sales by 6.2%, as a result of which its share increased from 18.8% to 19.1%. The third place is taken by Xiaomi. Its share increased from 8.9% to 11.2%. The top five also include Oppo and Huawei. Also, The share of Oppo increased from 8.3% to 8.8%. The share of Huawei decreased from 15.2% to 8.4%.
As for 2020 as a whole, Samsung remained the leader with 20.6% of the market. Apple is in second place with 15.9%. The share of Huawei, which is in third place at the end of 2020, is 14.6%. The fourth-place belongs to Xiaomi, whose share is 11.4%, the fifth – to Vivo, whose share is 8.6%. In 2019, Samsung’s share was 21.6%, Apple’s 13.9%. Huawei – 17.5%, Xiaomi – 9.2%, Vivo – 8.0%.
