Samsung Galaxy S21 FE could be a victim of the global chip shortage

We recently heard from a tipster that Samsung could launch the highly anticipated Galaxy S21 FE on September 9th. A new report from The Elec suggests this might not happen.

According to the South Korean publication, the Galaxy S21 FE should originally go into production in the first half of the year. The phone was scheduled to go on sale in the third quarter. However, this overall plan has apparently been delayed by four months due to the global chip shortage. Samsung is now expected to begin mass production of the S21 FE in September. This means that actual availability could extend to October or November.

A previous report had also suggested that Samsung could postpone the launch of the Galaxy S21 FE until October as the company wanted to focus its marketing efforts on its foldable phones. Another report in June suggested that Samsung has ceased production of the phone altogether, but the company dismissed this as speculation.

Aside from a potentially delayed launch, the latest report suggests that Samsung has cut shipping targets for the Galaxy S21 FE due to a lack of chips. The unavailability of SoCs has forced the company to reduce shipments by three million units, from the initial target of mid-10 million units to the early 10 million units.

Meanwhile, Samsung is also preparing for the launch of the Galaxy S22 next year. The report notes that the flagships could appear like their predecessors in January. Samsung is expected to begin producing parts for the S22 series in November.