TL; DR
- Samsung has reportedly stopped manufacturing the Galaxy S21 FE.
- It is believed that the exposure was due to a lack of smartphone chipsets.
- The report bodes badly for the phone to start up in its Q3 window, if at all.
We have been looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for months, with an upcoming launch window for the third quarter of this year. Now a new report from Korea suggests that the affordable flagship could be seriously at risk from the global chip shortage.
ETNews Reports (hours: FrontTron) that Samsung has stopped production of the Galaxy S21 FE due to missing processors, citing industry sources. Samsung’s delivery partners were apparently informed on Friday (June 11th) that the manufacturer is suspending production of S21 FE parts and canceling orders for various materials. The partners allegedly believe that this decision therefore means a “withdrawal” of the Galaxy S21 FE launch.
Samsung was previously recommended to use the Snapdragon 888 chipset for the new smartphone, but it seems like there aren’t enough chips to get around.
“I know Samsung assigned Qualcomm APs [application processors – ed] switched to foldable phones and discontinued the FE model because there weren’t enough semiconductors, ”an industry source said ETNews. “After approval for mass production was given, every company started production, but there was an unprecedented problem of the stop.”
Read more: The global shortage of computer chips explains
It is theoretically possible for production to resume, but stopping production on a large smartphone is not a trivial matter and will likely result in a long delay. Of course, that assumes that Samsung is able to fix the chip deficiency that is apparently the reason for the stop. However, Qualcomm previously said the chip shortage could last until the end of 2021, while Intel says the shortage could last “a couple of years”.
However, the report means that you may not want to hold your breath when a Galaxy S21 FE hits the market in the third quarter of 2021. We asked Samsung for a comment on the alleged production suspension of the Galaxy S21 FE and will update the article when they get back to us.