Why do 2021s smartphones - like the Galaxy Note 21 - keep being delayed or canceled?

Date:
Sat, 31 Jul 2021 09:00:09 +0000

Description:
From Covid-19 to chipset shortages, there are a number of reasons why phone releases have been disrupted this year.

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2021 has been a weird year for smartphones. Well, its been a weird year for a lot of things, but smartphones have been no exception, with a number of them being delayed, canceled or getting a limited launch.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 21 is the biggest casualty of the year in
smartphones, as Samsung has now confirmed that it wont be coming , but its
not alone in being absent.

The OnePlus 9T is also rumored to be canceled (assuming it was ever planned), while the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has reportedly been delayed (but may also
fail to launch), and the Google Pixel 5a is only confirmed to be launching in the US and Japan , rather than the world at large.

So whats going on? There are a number of factors at play, and some things we know for sure, while others we can take an educated guess at. Below then,
well explain broadly why many anticipated phones are likely arriving late or not at all. The Covid-19 factor

The obvious reason that this has been a weird year for phones is the same reason that its been a weird year for almost everything else Covid-19.

The pandemic has meant many employees have had to work from home rather than from their offices, with more people also likely being off sick, and some businesses either closing down or scaling down at points.

This will all have had an impact on smartphone production, and will understandably have led to delays and potentially even cancelations.

Beyond that, the pandemic has also for these reasons and others contributed to a shortage of chipsets, which are a core component of smartphones.
Covid-19 could mean there's no OnePlus 9T this year (Image credit: Future) Chipset shortages

While the pandemic is the obvious explanation for why so many phones are
being delayed and canceled, its not the only or perhaps even biggest reason, with a global chipset shortage seemingly having had the most impact though
as noted above the pandemic contributed to this too.

There are a whole load of reasons why there arent enough chipsets to go
around consumers have bought more consumer electronics than normal during
the pandemic, with these devices all needing chipsets, while growing demand for cloud computing when people worked from home also played a role, and all the while chipset manufacturers were having to deal with shutdowns.

Other factors include the high demand for 5G phones, while sanctions against China havent helped the situation either. This chipset shortage is a problem thats not just affecting phones but also computers, consoles and even cars. Chipsets are in short supply (Image credit: Qualcomm)

Its also a problem that companies and leakers have specifically pointed to as being behind a number of the delays and cancelations were seeing.

For example, back in March, long before the Samsung Galaxy Note 21 had actually been confirmed to be canceled, the companys co-CEO DJ Koh said :
"The disparity between the supply of parts and demand in the information technology (IT) side is severe".

"We are checking the parts supply problem every morning. It is difficult to say that it is 100% resolved. It is a bit of a problem in the second quarter.

So it seems that the chipset shortage was indeed a problem. And the Note 21 seemingly wasnt the only affected phone a leaker has suggested that the chipset shortage is also to blame for the Google Pixel 5a not getting a
global launch.

A report also suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE might have been canceled due to the chipset shortage though a more recent leak makes it seem like the phone might still land, just later than expected. Other explanations Do we need a Note 21 when there's an S21 Ultra? (Image credit: Future)

While the above factors are likely the main reasons for the delay and cancelation of handsets this year, there could be other factors too, most notably the fact that some of these phones arguably arent even needed.

The leaker who claimed there wont be a OnePlus 9T pointed out that there
arent many obvious upgrades for it, with the main likely one just being a slightly speedier chipset in the form of the Snapdragon 888 Plus .

Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 21 might note be that much different to
the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra thats already a huge phone with top-end specs, and for the first time it comes with stylus support too. With Samsung additionally bringing the S Pen stylus to foldables, the Note 21 could end up with no clear selling points.

Whatever the reasons though, the absence of these handsets is sure to be a disappointment to many, so hopefully in 2022 things will return to normal. There are still plenty of great handsets - these are the best smartphones



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/why-do-2021s-smartphones-like-the-galaxy-note-2 1-keep-being-delayed-or-canceled/


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