Global chip shortage has reduced demand for smartphones — Reuters
The global mobile device market is facing an unprecedented crisis that will lead to the sharpest decline in shipments on record.
This is reported by Reuters.
Due to a shortage of memory chips, exacerbated by geopolitical instability in the Middle East, manufacturers are currently fighting for their very survival.
According to new analyst forecasts, global gadget shipments will fall by 13.9% this year—to 1.08 billion units.
The main catalyst for the deterioration of the situation was disruptions in energy and logistics chains due to military operations in Iran.
The supply shock has been so severe that unfinished devices lacking key silicon chips are piling up in warehouses.
In addition, chipmakers are massively shifting capacity toward the production of highly profitable chips for artificial intelligence.
Due to this shift in priorities, manufacturing components for low-cost phones has become economically unviable. Already in the first quarter, global wholesale prices for smartphones surged by an average of 14%, while shipments dropped by 3.1%.
Experts warn of the possible complete disappearance from the market of popular models priced below $150.
“Manufacturers of low- and mid-range smartphones find themselves caught between rising costs and consumers with limited purchasing power. For many brands, the question is no longer how to increase shipments or gain market share, but whether they will be able to stay in the market at all,” comments Wang Yang, chief analyst at Counterpoint.
The Chinese holding company Transsion (brands Tecno, Infinix, Itel) will be hit the hardest, with its shipments plummeting by a catastrophic 32% this year.
The popular Xiaomi brand will face a 28% drop in sales, while Honor will lose about 20% of its annual volume. Budget-segment manufacturers simply cannot absorb such high costs on their own.
Against the backdrop of the industry-wide decline, the premium segment has demonstrated remarkable resilience thanks to high margins and long-term contracts.
The clear winner in the current situation is the American corporation Apple, which reported record profits for the first three months of the year.
Consumers are flocking to the flagship iPhone 17 lineup, so the company’s shipment volumes will remain stable.
Apple is preparing smart glasses for a market launch by 2027 — Bloomberg
As a reminder, a YouTuber was arrested in South Korea for fake AI audio.
Google’s AI Overview feature generates millions of incorrect answers every hour—NYT.
As a reminder, Japan is replacing people with robots on a massive scale due to the demographic crisis.
Also, Gemini will introduce mental health monitoring following lawsuits.
